From Fright to Financial Freedom
Blog | 19/08/25
Sitting in her small house, Perusi constantly worried about ways to solve her piling domestic financial issues especially; how she will take care of her 7 children single-handedly with no source of income. Perusi Ikimpaye – 45 hails from Nombe Village, adjacent to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Perusi’s life was an unending struggle until she was introduced to IGCP’s Vanishing Treasures’ project, four years ago.
“I had lived in isolation from the community for at least 4 months. Apart from being poor, my husband’s health had immensely deteriorated following a sudden illness,” narrates Ikimpaye.
Before he fell sick, Perusi’s husband was a carpenter and the breadwinner for the family, now that he was critically ill Perusi had to toil to take care of all their domestic needs. Perusi recalls a day when her daughter was sent home for school fees only for her to learn that she would not go back to school ever again until their dire poverty situation changed.
Fast forward, Perusi’s transformational journey started when her community chose her to represent the women in an upcoming training “The Vanishing Treasures” which they barely knew much about. The community just pushed her to join in a bid to get her out of isolation but gladly the move paid off.
“The training took us through a lot of things but what stood out for me was climate smart agriculture. I realized that much as I was poor, I at least had land that I could use wisely for commercial agriculture, “says Perusi. Together with her 14-year-old daughter, Perusi devised a plan based on all she had learnt that day. With routine check-ups and support from IGCP’s project officer Sarah Kigongo Kaggwa, Perusi’s dreams of making money from agricultural produce were realized.
Perusi started with organized seed planting as opposed to seed dispersal that they were used to. She intentionally used organic fertilizers in her banana, vegetable and Irish potatoes’ gardens, something that boosted her harvest. Determinedly Perusi also put terraces on her farm to prevent water run-offs and this has paid off.
“We often thought that our soils were not favorable for Irish potato growing, but currently I earn a reasonable amount from selling Irish potatoes that I harvest from the same garden, thanks to the new farming knowledge that I earned and applied,” Perusi proudly says.
Perusi boasts of a great harvest and great income, each season. Perusi harvests at least 4 sacks of Irish potatoes, each worth UGX 200,000, earns UGX 2 million from her banana harvest and at least earns UGX 300,000 from her pumpkin sales. Perusi has also invested in growing and selling sweet bananas. “Because of all the tourist lodges around, there is a high demand for fruits especially the sweet bananas. I earn averagely UGX 400,000 a month from the sweet bananas that I supply to the lodges ,”says Perusi.
From her earnings, Perusi set up a retail shop where she sells her farm produce along with other groceries like bread, milk, matchboxes, name it. Perusi also bought 20 sheep to provide organic manure for her gardens. Perusi is at peace now, she is able to meet her husband’s medical bills and pay her children’s school fees with ease.
To Perusi, Vanishing Treasures was the part of the puzzle that missed on her journey to success.
