An Impact Assessment of Permagardens in Palabek Refugee Settlement, Northern Uganda

African Women Rising (AWR) was launched in 2006 to empower women displaced by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) in the 20-year war in northern Uganda. A pioneer of permagardens in northern Uganda, AWR received funding from Cooperazione e Sviluppo Onlus (CESVI) and Trócaire to assist 4,500 South Sudanese refugees develop permagardens on their plots. To assess the impact of this intervention, AWR commissioned a participatory impact assessment (PIA) that was carried out from 20th November – 4th December 2019, to address two key questions:

1. What are the primary benefits?
2. What are the specific benefits, associated with permagarden ownership?

The assessment found that increased food availability was the primary benefit associated with permagarden ownership, followed by increased income through the sale of fresh vegetables. As a result of increased food availability, dependence on food aid was reduced and the refugees also reported improvements in household nutrition. Permagarden ownership also resulted in a 60 percent decrease in the number of households consuming only one meal a day and a 179 percent increase in the number of households eating three meals a day.