Tom Lakere is the latest recipient of the Permaculture Educators Course Scholarship! Over the past 18 months, we have donated $100,000 worth of courses to people around the world through the Permaculture Education Institute. You can be guaranteed that every time someone buys a PDC course, at least one extra person is gifted a permaculture education – usually a woman or local youth leader in the Global South.
The Permaculture Education Institute is dedicated to making permaculture education accessible to all. Particularly at the moment, there is a great need for permaculture teaching and practice in refugee camps around the world.
My main criteria for selecting recipients for this Scholarship, is that they are seeking to ripple out positive action in their local communities through permaculture education programs and demonstration gardens – sharing it amongst their community and supporting people care, earth regeneration, food security and local economic development. Also that they can participate in the global network of mutual learning.
I first met Tom at the September Global Permayouth Festival
The Global Permayouth Festival is an online event that enables youth from all around the world, who love permaculture and sustainability, to come together and collaborate for positive change. Tom was encouraged to attend the festival by my friend, Marie-Pierre at Refarmers. Tom does a lot of incredible work in and around his local community.
After speaking with Tom again at the October Global Permayouth Festival, I was blown away by his drive to learn permaculture and use the skills to help his community and the world. He is 19 and lives in Kitgum Town, in the very north of Uganda.
Kitgum – as Tom explains in further details below – was devastated by the LRA insurgency only 20 years ago and still today faces food insecurity, poverty, pollution and many other challenges.
Before COVID-19, Tom was at school in Kampala
Due to the pandemic, he had to come home from school and effectively end his education. This is when he was recruited by Refarmers Project Manager, Paul Kidega. These unexpected events have now completely changed his life and offered him so many new opportunities.
At only 19 years of age, Tom has already started his own climate action youth group called Green World Initiative, and reached out to the Permayouth group in Rwamwanja Refugee Camp to organise future learning opportunities for people in his home town. As well as applying for (and receiving) this Scholarship through Permaculture Education Institute, he has also applied for Abundant Earth Foundation and Permaculture Magazine‘s $5000 Permaculture Youth Prize (which hasn’t been awarded yet).
What’s even more impressive? He has done this all of this in his own time and through his own volition. We found out through Refarmers that he even saved up his small stipend from working on the Grandmothers Kitchen Garden Project this year, and has used it to buy himself a laptop!
Photo credit: Refarmers
Tom’s mission
Tom is only 16, and already he sees the challenges that we are facing in the world and is striving to make an improvement.
“I want to learn permaculture primarily to contribute to solutions in my local community, nation and the globe. I am seeking to circumvent its various challenges and hardships, which I believe through permaculture can be solved. Secondly, I developed passion and desire to learn and grow in permaculture from my experience at Permayouth Festival, which has totally changed my whole perspective of life.
“I am living in a post insurgency region, a region which had been in war for twenty years and challenges such as mental illness, food insecurity, hunger, poverty, gender based violence, pollution, climatic and environmental destruction forms part of the just unending list of the many challenges my community is facing.” – Tom
About the Scholarship
The Permaculture Educator’s Program is the only place to earn an internationally-recognised Permaculture Design Certificate and a Permaculture Teacher Certificate together online. The scholarship is valued at $2497 and will help Tom connect with other students in 6 continents. He will also have the support of a group who are also participating in the Course (through scholarships) in Uganda and other parts of East Africa.
“This double woven permaculture course will empower and give me the foundation on which Actions and alternative problem solving measures can be ushered grounded on its principles and ethics. The PTC will contribute much to the psycho-social supports, attitude and mindset shift in my community.
“Generally, this course (the Permaculture Design Course) will transform me into an all-round change maker capable of doing and as well showing my community how it is done (by putting into use my skills learned in the Permaculture Educators Course).” – Tom
Where to from here?
Tom was awarded the scholarship only a few weeks ago, but I’ve heard from my friends at Refarmers that he has already started the online course. Before we know it, Tom will be a certified permaculture educator and will be able to support his goals and create positive solutions in not only his own community but around the world too.
Update: 16th November
Tom is on his way now to meet Bemeriki in the Rwamwanja Refugee Settlement. Bemeriki is the leader of the Permayouth in Uganda. They will be collaborating on an exciting new opportunity – more details to come shortly!
From myself, and everyone the Permaculture Education Institute and Permayouth, I can say that we all feel so blessed to be able to support Tom’s mission by providing him with this course Scholarship.
Welcome to the Course Tom! Keep up the amazing work.
Morag Gamble 🙂
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