Rural Women Making a Difference in Their Communities (Part 3 of 3)

Another inspiring woman that I met through my community tourism work in Uganda, was a successful zero grazing farmer named Perusi Karamuzi. Perusi is helping to pave the road for positive change in her community.

Perusi Karamuzi – Model Homestead Farming

Perusi is a rural widow who through hard work and determination, turned into a successful zero grazing farmer and a role model in her community, producing biogas for cooking and lighting at her homestead from cow dung.

After losing her husband, Perusi found herself a bread winner for her family of 6 children. Her only source of income was a small banana plantation. Through selling bananas she bought an exotic Fresian cow and started zero grazing. Perusi worked very hard, started attending village trainings designed to equip rural farmers with hands-on skills in dairy farming. Perusi has now excelled at zero grazing, she gets enough milk to educate her children and support her extended family. Knowledge she acquired from trainings, she started bio gas production using dung from her cow, she no longer uses fire wood for cooking and neither does she use kerosene for lighting her house, she uses gas. Perusi’s homestead is now a center for zero grazing training in the district. She has mobilized fellow women from her village and formed a grassroots women farmer’s organization, activities include family based initiatives such as; apiary, mushroom growing, piggery, zero grazing and handcraft. Perusi was recognized and given an Award by the USA Ambassador for her entrepreneurship and community empowerment spirit.