[Scpg] Permaculture project manager position in Uganda

Fri May 29 06:52:39 PDT 2009

Job Description:

Project Manager/s

Sabina Food and Water Security Project

Sabina Home and Boarding Primary School

Rakai District, Uganda

Nurturing the growth of Sabina Home and School

You’re already passionate about permaculture as a 
tool to effect positive change and create designs 
for sustainable living and land use. Now here’s 
your opportunity to utilise your skills and 
enthusiasm to empower and address the real issues 
confronting communities in the developing world. 
We’re looking for a special person (or couple) to 
continue work on the permaculture project at 
Sabina Home and Boarding Primary School in 
southern Uganda.  Rowe Morrow of Australia 
created the initial design and taught workshops 
to the local staff and community in June 2008. 
Implementation of the design has been going 
forward since then. If you would enjoy the 
opportunity to put your skills to work, share 
your knowledge and experiences with, and learn 
from, an extraordinary community on a phenomenal 
site, this position may be for you.

To whet your appetite, let’s share a typical day onsite

Waking to a sky alive with birds, you walk 
through the growing gardens and are greeted by 
the big smiles and hugs of the children living 
onsite. Your newly acquired language skills are 
met with proud laughter and prompts from three 
hundred eager teachers. The day is rewarding – 
productive, varied, creative: each activity an 
opportunity for you to inspire those in the 
school and local community about the project and 
to learn in return. The heat of the day 
encourages you to take rest in the shade of a 
mango, and reflect on what’s been achieved to 
date, and what remains to be done. The sound of a 
hundred voices in song fills the soft evening air 
and the equatorial sky darkens to reveal a thick 
blanket of stars. Your head is filled with plans 
for planting and propagation, earth works and 
energy sources as flickering lamps and soft 
voices illuminate your walk to the nearby village 
for sweet papaya and bananas.  You savour the 
smiles, songs, stories and the sense of being 
continually humbled by the love and generosity 
shown by people so poor in the material sense, 
yet living life so richly. This is life at Sabina!

Job Description

Implement and improve on the site design at Sabina Home and Boarding School
Lead the permaculture team; manage and develop 
relationships within the community
Create and maintain project budgets and reports
Conduct project monitoring and evaluation
Teach permaculture-based courses, workshops, and 
informal workshops and courses for on-site 
residents and community, alongside short-term 
volunteers, interns and visitors
Participate in the selection of an Assistant 
Project Manager and facilitate the project’s 
transition to Ugandan management

Qualifications

Completed a PDC with recognised teacher(s)
Teaching credentials ideal

Experience

Practical permaculture design, implementation, 
and teaching experience (preferably in tropical 
climate)
Cross-cultural work, preferably in developing country
Hands-on work with chicken systems
Leading teams
Working collegially with off-site senior 
management, residential staff, and community 
groups
Formulation and maintenance of budgets and reporting systems
Experience working with community groups; leading 
and managing volunteers and interns

Personal attributes

Proven team leadership and ability to work as member of a team
Mature; adaptable; able to live in simple rural setting
Enjoy working with children
Fit & healthy; sense of humour; positive outlook
Sense of adventure and desire to work 
altruistically for a small non-profit organisation
Eager to take advantage of first-rate opportunity 
to create lasting change, including in your own 
life

Timeframe

Beginning somewhere between November 
2009-February 2010, for a period of six months 
(minimum) to twelve months (ideal)

Location

Sabina Primary School and Boarding House is 
located near the small township/’trading centre’ 
Ssanje in south-eastern Uganda, about 4 hours’ 
drive from Kampala, Uganda’s capital. Sabina 
School provides education and housing for 250 
orphans and children from vulnerable situations 
from the surrounding community.

Project Description

To implement the existing permaculture-based site 
design to increase food and water security at the 
home; to work alongside the teachers and staff to 
bring sustainable food production into the home 
and school; to improve knowledge of and nutrition 
of the home residents; to introduce knowledge of 
nutrition to the surrounding community; and to 
facilitate and teach permaculture-based 
workshops, courses, and potentially PDC’s for the 
community.

Remuneration and resources

Accommodation in a comfortable “banda” (round, 
thatched-roof, home) on-site; 3 basic meals a day 
(typically the staple foods of Uganda: posho 
(corn porridge) beans with vegetables; cassava; 
matoke (plantain-type bananas); greens; and 
seasonal fruits with meat occasionally; modest 
stipend and monthly budget to support 
implementation of the project. Supporters of the 
project – your communities and others - raise 
additional revenues to extend the project – e.g., 
to put more land under production to accomplish 
full food sovereignty and to build additional 
composting toilets, etc.

See our blog at 
www.childrenofuganda-permaculture.blogspot.com 
for the work accomplished since the first site 
design in July 2008.

To apply or further information, please email Jan 
Smart on 
<mailto:smartjuanita at earthlink.net>smartjuanita at earthlink.net.

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