Project Detail

Conservation of Budongo Forest through Community based Commercial Cultivation of Ocimum Kilmandscharium for manufacture of aromatherapeutic products

Budongo Forest is an escarpement to the east of lake Albert in Masindi District Western Uganda. It is threatened by extinction largely due to the very high human population around it that depends on it for new farm land and various products such as food, firewood, medicines, building materials and as a source of income. The project is a community-based initiative for the cultivation of the wild indigenous plant Ocimum. K. It is for the commercial production of essential oils for manufacture of Naturab, an aromatherapeutic product for alleviation of cold, flu, muscular aches, pains and relief of insect bite. The project benefits from experiences from partners that include GEF/SGP- Kenya, International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE), and Makerere University. Activities include environmental conservation awareness, trainings in cultivation of Ocimum, income generation awareness raising, extraction and manufacture of Naturab

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Project Snapshot

Grantee:

Budongo forests community development organisation

Country:

Uganda

Area Of Work:

Biodiversity

Operational Phase:

Phase 1

Grant Amount:

US$ 50,000.00

Co-Financing Cash:

US$ 23,500.00

Co-Financing in-Kind:

US$ 53,500.00

Project Number:

UGA/01/05

Start Date:

11/2001

End Date:

12/2003

Status:

Satisfactorily Completed

Project Characteristics and Results

Significant Participation of Indigenous Peoples

Apart from the technical input from ICIPE ? Kenya that includes formulation of the Naturab product line and preliminary extraction processes, most of the participation in the project is indigenous

Promoting Public Awareness of Global Environment

Awareness was an in-built part of the program

Notable Community Participation

The communities living in the immediate catchment area of Budongo forest participated through project planning, training and planting of the shrub.

Emphasis on Sustainable Livelihoods

The intensive collaboration and the emphasis on a good quality product was geared towards having guaranteed market hence improved income that is sustainable for the farmers

Capacity - Building Component

The local population were taken through a series of trainings right from production of the shrub upto extraction of essential oils. Trainings geared towards environmental conservation and income generation were undertaken

Gender Focus

Women form a majority of farmers in the project area and they played a dominant role in the project activities right from the planning stages

Project Results

At least 35 Farmers were mobilized to grow Occimum Kilimandscharicum on 5.61 acres of their land and their first harvest of 7.8 tonnes of plant materials provided the raw material for 38 distillations that yielded approximately 10 Kg of Occimum. K. oil from which the farmers earned Uganda Shillings 1,292,400 (>US$ 700). These earnings translated to Uganda Shillings 230,000 per acre per season which compares favourably with major cash crops like tobacco and maize that are both more capital and labour intensive.

A facility for extracting and processing Occimum Kilimandscharicum oil comprising distillation equipment and accessories has been established at Nyabyeya in Masindi district.

In partnership with International Centre for Insect Phisiology and Ecology (ICIPE) a new product called Naturub ointment was developed based on O.kilimandscharicum extract and lemongrass oil derived from another UNDP GEF/SGP funded project in Ntungamo district, Uganda. Naturub ointment is used for alleviating muscle aches, sprains, lumbago and athritis.

Design and development of packaging materials for the Naturub oitment has been undertaken in collaboration with ICIPE.

A market survey of Naturub ointment was carried out in Uganda and Kenya which indicated that the product is acceptable and will be able to penetrate the market. Retail supply chains have been established both in Uganda and Kenya.

A senior chemist and distiller operator were trained by ICIPE in general distillation and production of essential oils, laboratory management and safety procedures. These and other now constitute available human resource capacity.

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