Challenging power structures in rural Uganda

The case study examines the Trans-Harmony Farms project by the Initiative of Trans with A Mission (ITWAM) in the Mbale and Manafwa districts of Uganda. It details how the initiative supports 29 LGBTQIA+ farmers by providing training in permaculture and agroforestry, creating a cooperative to bypass systemic exclusion from government resources, and developing a digital app to ensure safe market access. The document analyzes these efforts through five dimensions of transformative potential: alignment with local contexts, resource enablement, relationship building, challenging power structures, and supporting systems learning. It highlights the critical role of the 2023 Anti-Homosexuality Act (AHA) in exacerbating the marginalization of these farmers and the strategic use of trusted personal relationships with local government officials to navigate a hostile legal environment.

• LGBTQIA+ individuals in rural Uganda face systemic exclusion from agricultural resources, training, and land ownership, a situation worsened by the 2023 Anti-Homosexuality Act (AHA) which can sentence people to life in prison or death for their sexual identity.
• The Trans-Harmony Farms project supports 29 farmers in the Mbale and Manafwa districts of Mt Elgon, Uganda, focusing on primary production through mixed cropping systems and livestock farming.
• To overcome physical exclusion from local markets and discrimination, ITWAM developed a digital application that allows LGBTQIA+ farmers to sell produce directly to vendors and provides logistics support to eliminate costly intermediaries.
• The initiative utilizes a community centre and a cooperative structure to provide LGBTQIA+ farmers access to public resources, such as loans, seeds, and greenhouses, which are typically only accessible to cisgender farmers through cooperatives.
• ITWAM navigates a restrictive legal environment by leveraging trusted personal relationships with local government officials and aligning its goals with the national priority of increasing sustainable agricultural practices.
• The project promotes climate resilience and environmental sustainability by training farmers in permaculture and agroforestry and providing a community greenhouse to mitigate the effects of climate change, such as longer dry spells and floods.
• The initiative fosters social cohesion and challenges prejudices by hosting community dialogues that include both cisgender and LGBTQIA+ farmers, focusing on shared agricultural challenges to find common ground.

APA

Global Resilience Partnership (n.d.). Challenging power structures in rural Uganda. https://www.globalresiliencepartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/initiative-of-trans-with-a-mission.pdf

Chicago

Global Resilience Partnership. Challenging power structures in rural Uganda. n.d. https://www.globalresiliencepartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/initiative-of-trans-with-a-mission.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Global Resilience Partnership |title=Challenging power structures in rural Uganda |url=https://www.globalresiliencepartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/initiative-of-trans-with-a-mission.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{globalresiliencepartnershipndchallenging, author = {{Global Resilience Partnership}}, title = {{Challenging power structures in rural Uganda}}, institution = {Global Resilience Partnership}, url = {https://www.globalresiliencepartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/initiative-of-trans-with-a-mission.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }