Gudie leisure farm in brief

November, 2009
Background:
Gudie Leisure Farm is an integrated enterprise on 14 acres of land started in 2002. It is located in
Mukutogumu village, Kiira town Council - Wakiso district. The farm is 15 minutes drive away from Kampala
city center (14km) and is adjacent to the tarmac road through Najeera to Kira.
Vision:
The farms vision is to become a pioneer peri-urban integrated leisure farm in Uganda.
The objectives:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

To promote interactive integrated agricultural education

To advance leisure for fitness
To facilitate reflection for purposeful living
To demonstrate appropriate technology for renewable energy
To showcase alternative and innovative ways of generating income from farming

Four ways to enjoy Gudie leisure farm:

a)
b)
c)
d)

Visiting
Farm membership
Participating in special events
Buying products

1. How GLF promotes interactive integrated agricultural education

Gudie leisure farm offers farm tours to the different enterprises. In this tour you will interact with our animals
that you are comfortable with like cattle, goats, pigs, rats, rabbits, poultry birds, donkeys and fish. You will
also interact with our mushroom and vegetable gardens and nursery. As a special treat we shall give you
an insight into our renewable energy option. The full tour is hoped to last 3 hours, however you can opt for
a shorter version of one hour where you risk missing out of some interaction. When you through with this
tour you will also have done some workout that will contribute to your fitness. Hope you are dressed
appropriately to enjoy the farm.
TOUR DESCRIPTION
The tours are theoretical or practical depending on the visitors choice. A practical guided tour around the
whole farm is expected to take approximately three hours as shown in the table below:

ACTIVITY

TIME/MINUTES

Welcome and introduction

20

Meet pork in the making

10

Have fun with the goat family

10

An insight into your kitchen garden

10

Meet the inhabitants of the hatch

10

The living transporter (donkey)

10

An enemy turned friend (rat)

10

Your mushroom in a bag

10

The farmers magic key (cow)

20

Meet the locals and exotic (poultry)

10

Waste to wealth (renewable energy)

10

The fisher you can be

20

Recapitulation and conclusion

30

Participatory visits to individual units reflect different activities such as planting, working the soil and
animals, harvesting and any other activity depending on the season, age. We can customize your tour to
cover any farm-related activities you wish.
These tours last 3 hours and are scheduled for a homogenous group at a time (One class ). Gudie leisure
Farm Staff is available to help visitors capture the experience on the farm since we learn best by being
actively involved.
Please note the farm also arrange week long training for groups to get a full view of the practical
management of each enterprise at a fee and on appointment
During the recap session visitors and staff will have a talk on organic agriculture. These talks are geared to
the age of the visitors/students, and allow for lots of questions from students and adults. In the recap
session visitors have an opportunity to build the farm by giving constructive ideas to improve their future
experience.

A theoretical guided tour around the farm is expected to take an hour. A solitary tour can also be provided
with our audio technology. You can also take the farm with you by buying our audiovisual version of the
tour.
Days and Times of Tours: Tours are available five days a week. We have a morning, mid-day, and
afternoon time-slot. Please book your convenient time in time.
Activity workbook: To guarantee interaction a workbook has been designed for you for individual use. It
can be obtained at a fee and it is your personal property.
Inclement weather: Life on the farm goes on regardless of weather. Rarely is it so bad that we cant
conduct a tour, we do have a spacious and comfortable hall where we can fruitfully continue a tour should
there be a down-pour.
What to Bring: Visitors should bring either boots or shoes that can get muddy, rain jackets and hats.
Lunch and Snacks: You may eat lunch or a snack in a covered area at the farm at an extra cost.
Be on Time!!! Its really important for all of us to keep on schedule. If you are late, we will have to shorten
your tour. Please plan on arriving five to ten minutes early
Internship: The farm offers internship for students of the relevant fields e.g. from the fisheries institutes,
farm schools and universities - Faculty of Agriculture, Geography, Ecotourism, Leisure and hospitality. The
farm provides for interns to put their theory into practice.

2. How GLF advances leisure for fitness

Apart form the walk during the study tours, the farm offers the following different leisure for fitness activities:

Foot/net/volley
ball
The farm has enough open green space to facilitate all ball games. Balls are available at the farm and
movable goal posts can be provided on request. A group can book a field for a particular time.
Walking/jogging/running
There is a provision for a walkway for a group, couple and an individual. This is a stretch of 1200m long
and two meters wide. Depending on your tempo you can walk it several times. Alongside the walkway
are flowers and water in a manmade channel (canoes) and in a natural stream) this gives the walkers a
good ambience that facilitates reflection and relaxation. The walk takes you all round the farm seeing
all the provisions of the farm while you exercise. In the near future the farm will provide walking/ jogging
shoes and uniform for hire.
Donkey
riding
and
Biking
The farm has a provision of three meters wide and 1200 long for bicycle riding. Available for higher are
bicycles of all sizes from baby to adult. You can also ride on donkeys. There also facilities for a coach.
Explore your riding potential or have fun depending on your taste.

Cart
riding
Carts with a well protected cart track are available at Gudie leisure farm they are limited to children of
10 years and below. They are in different kids: motobicycles, cars, jeeps, loaders fit your choice and
suit your childrens interest.
Canoeing
Gudie leisure farm has three separate canoe channels with 10 canoes to your disposal. You are free to
enjoy the ride alone or in a group. The time is limited by your ability. Full time guides are available to
canoe you or train you to do it yourself.
Fishing
At Gudie leisure farm you can catch your own fish and have it prepared for you and you eat it. There
are fishing gears and a guide to help you achieve it. Your license also allows a chance to carry your
own
caught
fish
home.

Childrens play area

The farm has created a childrens play area with enough of the following monkey climbers, ordinary climbers,
slides, swings, merry go around, jumping castle, seesaw all at the disposal of your children of age. In attendance
is a full time play area attendant to ensure safety of the children as the parents enjoy the farm. On call is a nurse
incase of any eventuality.

Drum rolling and water pumping

Among the manual fitness provisions of the farm is drum rolling and manual water pumping for fun.
Farm tour
The farm tour that last at minimum three hours is an in built fitness program. At the end of the tour we will have
burnt some carolies.
Fitness think tank
To stimulate more interest in fitness for its accrued benefits, a think tank is in place to discuss how to make fitness
for leisure more rewarding.
Soon coming swimming
The farm will have a pioneer naturally cleaning swimming pool of Olympic size soon.

3. How GLF facilitates reflection for purposeful living

The farm environment is quiet and suitable for personal reflection. However, the farm also
facilitates reflection through think tanks. These bring people together of similar interests; A think
tank meets monthly for about a year at minimum. In each meeting, through a guided discussion
they outline challenges that face the category. Later, through a series of discussions they generate,
demonstrate and prioritize practical tips. Individual members of the think tank implement the tips
and draw lessons which are later shared with the group. The tank evaluates the most applicable
tips that are documented in detail and published. The publications are sold and the think tank
members and the farm share the profits
Types of think tanks:
a. Writers Think tank
To motivate a writing culture in the Ugandan population, the farm brings together people who
wish to use writing as a platform for communication. These are in different age groups (Upper
primary, lower secondary, upper secondary, tertiary institutions and the community). To
stimulate writing they arel be guided to handle writing projects that give them experience in the

different types of writing e.g. writing bibliographies, life experience, inspirational books, news
paper articles, journal articles, educational books, fiction books, entertaining books and plays,
instructional books, music and poems
b. Readers think tank
To motivate the information searching culture the farm has a think tank in form of a reading
club. These bring together different age groups (Upper primary, lower secondary, upper
secondary, tertiary institutions and the community). To stimulate reading skills, they each think
tank will read a book per month then meet to discuss guided by a schedule and pick another
book for the next month. The reading material may include bibliographies, life experience,
inspirational books, news paper articles, journal articles, educational books, fiction books,
entertaining books and plays, instructional books, music and poems
c. Young entrepreneurs
The farm wants to create a cadre of youth to showcase unleashing the potential within reach to
create more jobs, more wealth and a sustainable quality of life. At Gudie leisure farm (GLF),
the youth have a hands-on exposure to 18 integrated innovative enterprises. They will also be
orientated and given tools for reflection for purposeful living (lifetime line, journal), information
searching (value addition and innovation quest), planning and management of an enterprise
(action and business plan) and evaluation (performance contract). Each participant mentors
five more youth in five years to do the same through collaboration on the project. Each is
required to report their progress to the farm for 2 years. The publication of this think-tank
includes their innovations in the different projects and mentees, database of projects and a
manual of implementation of small scale projects.
d. Family think tank
Family as a unit (Mother, father and children) is an important entity is society. To ensure that a
family lives a fulfilled and planned life, a family think tank has been proposed.
e. Parenting think tank
To make parenting more rewarding, a parents think tank is constituted. Parents for different
age groups are put together (0-10 years, teens, grandparents) to agree on working strategies.
f. Youth think tanks
Considering that the youth are most of the time at school, their think tanks are organized
during holidays as camps. These are organized for different age groups (upper primary, lower
secondary, upper secondary, tertiary and out of school).
g. Women imaging themselves
Women in different age groups (18-30, 31-50, 51-70) are brought together to image
themselves in the new millennium so that they make a significant contribution in development.
h. Fitness
To instill the culture of fitness for health, a think tank on fitness is instituted. Apart from the
physical participation in the fitness activities they also engage in scientific understanding of the
health, fitness and nutrition.
i. Singles
Single young men and women will come together for a socialization process to help them meet
each other, learn and practice tips of courtship.
j. Home makers

To ensure that a home becomes a pleasant place to be, a homemakers think tank has been
proposed. This brings together home makers to have a resource of ways of improving their
homes.
k. Art, craft, recycling and value addition
Through art and craft a think tank for recycling and adding value is constituted. This makes use
of all types of waste to recycle it into a commercial product.
l. Farmers think tank
This brings practicing and intending farmers to experience the innovation in farming at Gudie
leisure farm and put them into practice in their own farms.
m. Marriage love builders think-tank
This brings together married couples and those intending to marry to devise means of making
marriage rewarding for each partner.
Organized group retreats - Groups are encouraged and arrangements are in place to make their
visit rewarding and memorable. Garden venue for a big number of guests (wedding, music show,
exhibition). The garden venue can sit up to 10,000 persons. Prior notice is required to ensure
specialized arrangements. There are sites at the canoe channel island and fish pond banks for
private reflection in group or as an individual. Seize the opportunity.
4. How GLF demonstrates appropriate technology for renewable energy
The farm intends to demonstrate use of biomass, wind, water and solar energy. Then also
demonstrate practical ways of turning waste into wealth through recycling. At the moment the farm
demonstrates the production and use of biogas for cooking and lighting. Soon biogas will be used
to run a generator. A water dam has been constructed and soon a turbine will be installed to
provide hydro electricity. The farm is currently being wired to be able to exploit solar energy for its
lighting; the farm is still researching the possibility of harvesting wind energy. There is still room for
development of this objective.
5. How GLF showcases alternative and innovative ways of generating income from farming
The farm believes that there is no reason to settle for less when you can get more? Gudie leisure farm
www.gudiefarm.webs.com with the objectives of promoting interactive agricultural education, leisure for
fitness, reflection, demonstration of the use of renewable energy and innovative farming has
demonstrated that agricultural in an ecosystem does not only keep the environment clean however

gives more avenues for income and reduces costs on individual agricultural enterprises.
Plants

Animals

Slurry
from
biogas

Animal
droppings

Biogas

Since 2002 the farm is open to the public and each segment of the ecosystem in a lesson for the
public, a money maker for the farmer and a food for other segments. Plants e.g. flowers for
beautification, trees for shed, vegetables and fruits and grass apart from using most of them at the
farm, the nursery makes them available in great numbers to other people. This increase plants that
can utilize carbon dioxide. Plants that are not eaten or sold are fed to our animals (chickens,
rabbits, fish, pigs, cows, goats, donkeys and rats). Our animals among other products they give us
their droppings. We have found this a very valuable resource at the farm. Our chicken droppings
are fed to the fish and the pigs. The droppings help to fertilize the fish ponds so as to support the
growth of fish food. When we slaughter chicken we also feed the offals to our fish. This provides a
protein source. The droppings (urine and feces) from goats, cows, donkeys, rabbits and pigs are
fed to our biogas digester. We are able to get biogas for lighting our chicken house and also for
cooking our food. Excess cow dung is also used to produce charcoal balls which are used for
cooking. This makes us preserve the trees that would have otherwise been used for firewood.
Again we also use the greenhouse gases for our cooking and lighting thus reduce what would have
gone into the atmosphere. From the droppings we also get slurry. This connects the ecosystem.
We give this to our plants. They can produce more health off springs that can then be fed back into
the ecosystem. A candle loses nothing by sharing its light; at Gudie leisure farm we make our
visitors learn our secrets so that we can be a network of innovative farmers. We are open to the
public for mentorship, exposure, stimulation to take up innovative farming and consumption of our

products at a fee. Uganda as a country through the different ministries and institutions promotes
the different aspects of our ecosystem as separate entities.
The farm stimulates business ideas in farming that are built on sound environmentally friendly
principles. For example: Biogas is a needed alternative source of energy especially in Africa where
we still generate a lot of residues due to being primarily agriculturists. Any bio waste can be
transformed into biogas. This can be used for lighting that eliminating the smoke in our kitchens
and homes. It can be used for cooking and heating rooms for animals. The biogas can also be
used to run generators that can in turn supply power to heavy machinery like fridges and the like.
Fuel energy remains a needed resource. Charcoal balls from dung are also another source of heat
energy for cooking. This makes use of the waste while saving the trees that would normally be
used for firewood and charcoal. Nursery growing is also a good business opportunity that has the
potential to improve the global environmental ecosystem