TASLL Project Turns Landscape Restoration into Profitable Green Businesses in Northern Uganda
The Transformative Approach to Sustainable Landscapes and Livelihoods (TASLL) in Northern Uganda project, implemented by ECOTRUST with funding from UK International Development and other partners, is demonstrating that environmental conservation can be transformed into a profitable, self-sustaining agribusiness. As the project comes to a close, thousands of farmers and rural enterprises are expected to continue benefiting from the skills, markets and investments established under the initiative.
The TASLL Northern Uganda project focused on conserving more than 65,548 hectares of natural forest in the Agoro-Agu landscape across the Acholi East sub-region, covering Lamwo, Pader, Kitgum and Agago districts. To reverse deforestation, the project set out to restore 15,000 hectares of degraded land by planting six million native trees, with restoration efforts deliberately extended to refugee-hosting communities.
By combining technical capacity building, access to quality tree seedlings and direct market linkages, the project has transformed economic opportunities for smallholder farmers. Local groups and independent entrepreneurs have been trained to operate green enterprises, including sustainable tree nurseries, beekeeping businesses and shea butter production, enabling them to increase incomes while creating employment within their communities.
For Kidega Moses, a resident of Labong Akwang Parish in Kitgum District, the project provided the opportunity he needed to expand his nursery business.
"I already had a passion for raising seedlings, but I lacked the technical knowledge to scale up," says Kidega. "ECOTRUST stepped in at the perfect time to bridge the gap. Through their support and training at Namanve Seed Centre, I was able to access quality seeds, which helped me expand my business. Today, knowing that my nursery has directly contributed to the thousands of trees planted in our community is proof that landscape restoration can be a powerful business."
Today, Kidega has expanded his enterprise, acquired technical expertise, employed two permanent workers and more than 10 part-time workers to support nursery operations.
He has earned more than UGX 25 million from selling 51,000 seedlings during 2025 and 2026 and now plans to further scale up production.
While commercial and indigenous woodlots offer significant long-term financial returns, often after more than 20 years, many smallholder farmers face immediate household income needs.
To address this challenge, the project combines long-term environmental investments with short-term livelihood activities, ensuring that rural households remain financially resilient as their trees mature.
Ogaba Sisto, 52, is among the 97 farmers who planted trees under the TASLL project in Lugwar Parish, Labong Akwang Sub-county, Kitgum District. Through the programme, he planted 600 Tectona trees, commonly known as black teak, alongside cassava, millet, groundnuts, maize and simsim. For farmers like Sisto, these intercrops provide immediate income while the trees continue growing for future returns.
"I have to admit, before today, I didn't have a single tree planted under my name," says Bosco Oket Yot, the LCIII Chairperson of Labong Akwang. "But after visiting the field and seeing what farmers like Sisto and Moses are achieving, especially through the sale of 51,000 seedlings, something changed my mindset. I have been inspired. I am now declaring that I am going to become a tree farmer myself. I want to challenge all other leaders and stakeholders to lead by example and start planting trees in our communities."
During a visit to project beneficiaries, Pader District Assistant Chief Administrative Officer Among Catherine emphasized the need to integrate livelihood projects for greater impact.
"The success we are seeing on the ground is testimony to strong partnerships, but the challenge for us as leaders is to ensure integration," Among says. "We need to actively connect these farmers to initiatives like PDM and micro-scale irrigation. If a maize farmer can irrigate both food crops and trees, we can ensure year-round productivity. Integration is the key to reducing household poverty and achieving sustainable development."
"We are suffering because of our own actions," says William Komaketch, the Resident District Commissioner of Lamwo District, one of the project implementation areas. "Forty percent of our rainfall is generated locally from trees, lakes and wetlands, but we have destroyed them and now the weather is failing us.
Planting trees is an excellent long-term investment, but farmers cannot wait 25 or 30 years for returns. If we want our people to prosper, conservation must be paired with immediate livelihood opportunities."
As one of the key implementing partners, ECOTRUST says it is already planning the next phase of livelihood support.
"We are planning to construct a Beekeeping Centre of Excellence in Pader and establish honey collection centres in Lamwo and Agago districts," says Gerald Kairu, Head of Programmes at ECOTRUST. "The intention is to support people to further improve their livelihoods."
By demonstrating that landscape restoration can be managed as a structured and profitable enterprise, the TASLL project has gone beyond tree planting. It is nurturing a new generation of rural green entrepreneurs who are proving that environmental stewardship and economic prosperity can grow together.
