SPARKNET organisation profile

Integrated Rural Development Initiative

Associate

. The Integrated Rural Development Initiatives (IRDI) aims at strengthening communities for development through sustainable natural resource management in Uganda. Currently, IRDI targets communities to be empowered to manage their resources for sustainable development by the year 2005 and to be one of the established self sustaining civil society organisations spearheading renewable and sustainable environment management by the year 2005.

This is done through facilitating and mobilising greater community participation and initiative to rural development using a two pronged approach: through policy research and advocacy with the aim of influencing government policy on natural resources vital for rural development to make such policy suit the socio-economic and cultural setting of society especially the marginalised communities and, through participatory initiation and implementation of community-driven sustainable and replicable environment based development projects.

The project which will be documented under SPARKNET is the Biogas technology for improved livelihood: a focus on Tubular biogas digester. IRDI’s has been promoting and disseminating tubular biogas digesters. Although this technology is 5 years old in Uganda, little effort had been done to ensure it’s dissemination country wide. In 2000 with the support of UNDP Africa2000 Network, IRDI embarked on promotion, training and dissemination of tubular biogas digesters with the aim of promoting sustainable rural development through the utilization of appropriate and adoptable yet cheap alternative technology. In this collaboration six Districts across Uganda were reached. A total of 26 digesters in the Districts of Mpigi, Wakiso, Kabale, Hoima, Iganga and Tororo were constructed.

Organisation contacts

	name	surname	city	country
Mr.	Sam	Bagabo	Kampala	Uganda	view
Mrs.	Hellen	Gakwaya	Kampala	Uganda	view
Mr.	Andrew	Yiga	Kampala	Uganda	view