Wood is the main source of energy in impoverished and rural areas, nearly exclusively relied upon as cooking fuel and building material. Clearing trees for agricultural land use as well as firewood and charcoal collection are the two biggest reasons for deforestation in Uganda.

Throughout Uganda, rotunda structures can be found interspersed with the small business owners, artisans and farmers who set up shop along main roads and highways. Ugandans use these dome-like structures as kilns to “burn” the clay-based bricks they build with. Trucks loaded with local trees are characteristic of Uganda’s main roads and highways, delivering them to the kilns as firewood burned in the brick drying process.

The United Nations’ Food & Agriculture Organization estimates the forestry cover in Uganda has shrunk from 45% in 1890 to 20.3% of the total land area. The annual rate of depletion is estimated to be 2%, which is increasing each year. With a growing population putting strain on the land, an urban demand for charcoal, harvesting timber wood faster than it can be replenished and the lack of governmental planning and regulation to further prevent deforestation, Uganda’s forests are facing a serious threat of complete devastation.

Continuing to unsustainably harvest trees poses an enormous threat to food production and the livelihood of Uganda’s people. Climate change characterized by unstable weather patterns such as severe flooding and drought are already creating mass famine and disease.

A mixture of earth, sand, cement and water is used to make the bricks for Katikamu’s new school

Our Approach

To prevent further deforestation in the rural communities we work with and to promote a healthy, sustainable way of life, Just Like My Child uses an environmentally sustainable approach in its construction programs. Our building process does not require burning of trees at all.

In the rural areas where we work, the primary method of building is either with mud (very susceptible to destruction by heavy rains) or clay bricks dried by burning wood in kilns.

Just Like My Child has invested in a new, more economical and environmentally sustainable way of making bricks used for building. The methodology uses interlocking-brick presses that compress a simple mixture of earth, sand, water and cement into a brick that uses sunshine to dry. With the brick presses we have found a new way to build without burning a single tree.

The mixture is shoveled and placed loosely into the brick press

Education

Over 50% of our annual program budget is committed to building schools and rebuilding hospitals with the co-investment of the communities we work with. Each community we work with undergoes an education curriculum designed to teach the importance of sustainable building and how to use the new brick-making machines, requiring no deforestation.

The effect of this education goes beyond the immediate building project and will extend well into the future of the communities. Many of the people we work with live in temporary housing structures made out of mud, branches and palm leaves because they lack the tools and resources to build permanent structures. With this new and sustainable way to build with brick presses, communities now have the skills and resources to build permanent housing strong enough to withstand and protect against natural elements.

The lid is closed and a lever is pulled to compress the earth mixture into a brick shape

Villagers are eager to learn this new technology and are so happy that they can teach their children an improved way of building that will protect the future of their land and environment.

Our Mission

By the end of 2009, it is our commitment to teach this new technology to three new communities that will be building schools and to build a new surgical center for Bishop Asili Hospital that serves a community of over 600,000 people

Results

JLMC’s inter-locking brick presses have helped the village of Katikamu build their first school- giving 500 children the life-changing opportunity of education. The school is environmentally sound, made entirely by community members out of local materials compressed into interlocking bricks. Click to learn more about Katikamu's new school.

Another lever pull pushes the compressed brick up out of the mold

The compressed bricks are stacked neatly to dry and keep count!