Forest gardens on Mount Elgon, Uganda. Each one designed by the farmer who owns it.

Farming families near Mount Elgon in eastern Uganda were trained over four years to turn worn-out plots into Forest Gardens: trees and food crops grown together on the same land.

The Forest Gardens project in Mount Elgon, Uganda

Trees funded by Printlogik: 160
UN global goals supported: 10
Mbale, Uganda: 0.9°N, 34.1°E

In short

Where: Around Mount Elgon, near Mbale in the east of Uganda.
What: Forest Gardens: farm plots planted with trees and a mix of food crops. Ecologi reports that all the farmers have graduated from the four-year programme.
Who: Trees For The Future, a non-profit, which trains local farmers to plant and care for their own gardens.
Why: The land is badly degraded. A mix of trees and crops protects the soil, gives families more food and spreads the risk if one crop fails.

Why Mount Elgon

Mount Elgon is in the east of Uganda. The land around it has been badly worn down by tree-cutting and over-farming. A lot of people live there, and that puts the land under strain.

Animals graze it, trees are cut for firewood, and large areas grow just one crop, such as bananas or coffee. In places the ground has been left almost bare. The degraded land has also led to deadly landslides, which are a real danger to the people living nearby.

Ecologi’s page points out that single-crop farming was often imposed on areas like this by colonial powers. It now works against both the people and the land.

Why forest gardens

A farmer who grows only one crop can lose a whole income to a drought or a disease. A farmer who grows many crops is much safer. A Forest Garden puts that idea to work, with trees and food plants sharing one plot.

They feed families. Farmers plant food crops between the trees. They choose from crops that grow well in the region, so they grow what they want to eat and sell.
They spare the forest. Farmers learn to prune and coppice their trees for firewood and animal feed without cutting them down. That takes pressure off healthy forest nearby.
They help wildlife. The gardens are planned to suit native creatures, including pollinators, and chemical pesticides are not used.
They store carbon. The trees take carbon out of the air and help keep moisture in the local area.

The Forest Gardens project in Uganda — Photographs: Ecologi and Trees For The Future.

Who does the work

The project was run by Trees For The Future, a non-profit that restores land with farming communities. It finds farming families, then trains and supports them to plant and look after their own gardens. The programme lasts four years.

The farmers do the planting, and the gardens are theirs. By January 2023 more than half of the farmers taking part were women. Ecologi’s updates call the project “Mount Elgon 5”.

The plan given on the page was to work with 400 farmers to plant 1,600,000 trees over four years. That is a target. The page does not give a final count of trees.

The project on record

Ecologi lists this project as “previously funded” and no longer takes contributions for it. It gives 2021 as the year its funding began. The figures below are the ones Ecologi published as the work went on, each with its date.

The last update that counts everyone taking part is from January 2023. Later updates describe single farmers and the end of the programme.

September 2020Ecologi introduces the project and the Forest Garden method used by Trees For The Future.
January 2022Five months into Ecologi’s support, 98 farmers and 736 local people in all have benefited. Half of the farmers are women, and 66 acres of land have been restored.
January 2023300 farmers have been trained and are using the method. There are 3,522 people benefiting, mostly the farmers’ families. 57% of the farmers are women.
March 2023A 37-year-old farmer can now feed her household of 10 with vegetables she has grown herself all year round.
July 2024A 35-year-old farmer who began with 2 trees on her plot now has 2,115. She grew one food crop before and now grows 7.
May and September 2025All the farmers in the group have finished the four-year programme. Ecologi visits several gardens and sees their 7 layers of growing, with groundworks that save water and protect the soil.

300farmers trained in the Forest Garden method by January 2023, the last group-wide figure Ecologi published for this project.

How the project is checked

We do not choose or run the projects ourselves. They are selected by Ecologi, and this one carries its “Nature Project: Ecologi Approved” mark. Ecologi names Trees For The Future as the partner that delivers the project, and its staff visited several of the gardens in 2025.

Ecologi also keeps a public record of what each of its members has funded, so our contribution can be checked by anyone. The link is in the project details below.

What Printlogik has funded here

Through the Print A Tree Project, Printlogik orders have funded 160 trees in the Forest Gardens of Mount Elgon.

Because Ecologi no longer takes contributions for this project, that figure is our final count here. Every order we print still funds planting: the contribution is made for you through Ecologi and goes to the projects it is funding today.

How your order gets here

You order printAny order, of any size. There is nothing to tick and nothing extra to pay.
We make a contributionEach invoice triggers a contribution from Printlogik to Ecologi.
Trees go in the groundEcologi funds projects like this one, and records what we have funded in public.

The UN global goals it supports

The United Nations has set 17 Sustainable Development Goals for a fairer, healthier planet by 2030. Ecologi records this project as supporting 10 of them.

1No poverty
2Zero hunger
3Good health and well-being
4Quality education
5Gender equality
8Decent work and economic growth
10Reduced inequalities
11Sustainable cities and communities
13Climate action
15Life on land

Where it is

Mbale, Uganda · 0.9°N, 34.1°E

Location	Mbale, Uganda
Type of project	Forest gardens
Run by	Trees For The Future
Status	Previously funded. Ecologi funded it from 2021 and no longer takes contributions for it
Funded by Printlogik	160 trees
Full record	See it on Ecologi

Questions

Forest gardens in Uganda, answered

Where is the Mount Elgon project?

Around Mount Elgon in eastern Uganda. Ecologi gives the location as Mbale.

What is a Forest Garden?

A farm plot where trees and a mix of food crops are grown together, in layers, so the land produces more and the soil is protected.

Why not just plant trees?

Farmers here need food and income from their land. A Forest Garden gives them both, and gives them firewood and animal feed without cutting healthy forest.

Who plants the trees?

Local farmers, on their own land. Trees For The Future trains and supports them over four years.

Is the project still running?

Ecologi lists it as previously funded, so it is no longer taking new contributions. Its 2025 updates say the farmers have all finished the four-year programme.

How does my print order help?

Every Printlogik order funds tree planting and carbon reduction through Ecologi, at no extra cost to you. Printlogik orders funded 160 trees at this project while it was open. New orders fund the projects Ecologi supports today.