Amplifying the voices of the voiceless

Justice is not given — it is built. At Nect Green Code, we believe that the people most affected by environmental harm, poverty, and injustice are not victims waiting to be saved. They are leaders waiting to be supported. Our Community Empowerment programme exists to provide that support — equipping individuals, groups, and communities across Uganda with the tools, knowledge, and platforms they need to demand and create change for themselves.

An empowered community is the foundation upon which all our other work stands. Without it, no climate victory, no zero waste initiative, and no animal welfare campaign can take lasting root.

1. Why Community Empowerment Matters

Across Uganda's Albertine region and beyond, communities face a common and deeply unjust pattern: the decisions that most affect their lives — about land, energy, water, food, and the environment — are made without them. Oil companies negotiate with governments. Policies are written in capital cities. International climate agreements are signed by leaders far removed from the communities living with the consequences.

This is a power imbalance. And power imbalances do not fix themselves.

Nect Green Code works to shift that balance — by building the capacity of ordinary people to understand their rights, organise collectively, and hold powerful institutions accountable.

2. Who We Work With

• Farming and fishing communities in the Albertine region affected by oil developments
• Women and girls facing barriers to participation in environmental and civic decision-making
• Young people and youth groups who are the future of Uganda's environmental movement
• Grassroots community organisations that need support to grow their voice and impact
• Schools and educators who shape the next generation of environmental citizens
• Local government officials who need capacity to enforce environmental protections

3. What We Do

Civic Education & Rights Awareness Many community members do not know their legal rights regarding land, compensation, environmental protection, or public participation. We run workshops, community dialogues, and information sessions that explain:

• Land rights and what to do when they are violated
• How to engage with Environmental Impact Assessment processes
• Rights under Uganda's National Environment Act and international frameworks
• How to file complaints with national and international human rights bodies

Leadership Development We invest in people — particularly women and young people — who show commitment to their communities. Through training, mentorship, and hands-on experience, we develop a new generation of environmental and community leaders who can sustain the movement beyond any single campaign.

Community Organising We support communities to come together, identify shared concerns, develop collective strategies, and take coordinated action. Strong community organisation is the most powerful tool against corporate and government indifference.

Digital Literacy & Communications We train community members to document environmental violations, tell their own stories, and use digital tools — including social media, video, and online petitions — to amplify their voices nationally and internationally.

Youth Innovation & Green Jobs We run youth-led challenges and incubation programmes that encourage young Ugandans to develop green business ideas, eco-friendly products, and community solutions that create livelihoods while protecting the environment.

5. Our Key Activities

• Community dialogues and town halls on environmental rights and governance
• Women's leadership circles in Hoima and the wider Albertine region
• Youth environmental clubs in secondary schools and universities
• Training of community paralegals to support land and environmental rights cases
• Storytelling and documentary projects capturing voices from affected communities
• Participatory action research where communities lead their own investigations
• Digital skills and social media training for grassroots advocates

6. Key Principles

The way we treat animals and the food choices we make are among the most powerful — and most overlooked — drivers of environmental destruction and climate change. At Nect Green Code, we believe that building a just and sustainable world requires expanding our circle of compassion to include all living beings. This programme connects the dots between animal welfare, food systems, human health, and planetary survival — and invites every Ugandan to be part of the solution.

1. The Case for This Programme

Animals and the environment are inseparable. Uganda is home to extraordinary biodiversity — mountain gorillas, chimpanzees, elephants, lions, hundreds of bird species, and countless other animals that make this country one of Africa's most precious ecosystems. Yet these animals face mounting threats: habitat destruction from oil drilling and agriculture, human-wildlife conflict driven by land encroachment, illegal wildlife trade, and the suffering of animals in poorly regulated farming and domestic settings.

At the same time, the global industrial food system — dominated by factory farming and large-scale animal agriculture — is one of the single largest contributors to:

• Greenhouse gas emissions (responsible for up to 14.5% of global emissions according to the FAO)
• Deforestation — forests cleared for livestock grazing and animal feed production
• Water pollution — animal waste runoff contaminating rivers and groundwater
• Biodiversity loss — habitat destruction to make way for feed crops and grazing land
• Antibiotic resistance — overuse of antibiotics in industrial livestock farming

These are not distant, abstract problems. They are happening in Uganda and the wider region — and they affect the same communities NGC works to protect.

2. Our Focus Areas

Animal Welfare Advocacy

We advocate for the humane treatment of all animals — domestic, farm, and wild. This includes:

• Raising awareness about the conditions of animals in agriculture, including the welfare standards of livestock kept by smallholder and commercial farmers
• Advocating for stronger legal protections for animals under Ugandan law
• Supporting wildlife protection and anti-poaching efforts in and around Uganda's national parks and protected areas
• Addressing human-wildlife conflict humanely — finding solutions that protect both communities and animals
• Promoting responsible pet ownership and the ethical treatment of working animals

Plant-Based Diet Advocacy

We promote accessible, affordable, and culturally relevant plant-based eating as a pathway to better health, lower carbon emissions, and a more compassionate food system. We recognise that Uganda already has a rich tradition of plant-based foods — matoke, groundnuts, beans, cassava, sweet potatoes, leafy greens — and we build on this foundation rather than importing foreign dietary models.

Our advocacy includes:

• Community nutrition education connecting diet, health, and environmental impact
• Cooking demonstrations and recipe sharing showcasing delicious, affordable plant-based Ugandan meals
• Engaging schools and institutions to introduce more plant-based options in canteens and feeding programmes
• Working with local farmers to support the production and marketing of plant-based crops
• Challenging the narrative that meat is a status symbol or necessity, replacing it with pride in Uganda's plant-rich food heritage

4. Our Key Activities

• Public awareness campaigns on the links between diet, animal welfare, and the environment
• School programmes introducing students to animal welfare concepts and plant-based cooking
• Community workshops combining nutrition education with environmental impact information
• Partnerships with local farmers growing legumes, vegetables, and other plant-based crops
• Wildlife protection awareness campaigns in communities bordering national parks
• Advocacy for stronger animal welfare legislation at district and national levels

5. Key Facts (Uganda & Global Context)

Waste is not just a nuisance — it is a symptom of a broken system. A system that extracts resources, uses them once, and throws them away. A system that places its dumps, its pollution, and its toxic burden on the communities least able to resist. At Nect Green Code, our Zero Waste programme challenges this system at its roots — promoting responsible consumption, circular economies, and community-led solutions that create a cleaner, healthier, and more just Uganda.

Zero waste is not about perfection. It is about rethinking everything.

1. The Problem We Are Tackling

Uganda generates an estimated 600,000 tonnes of solid waste annually, with Kampala alone producing over 2,000 tonnes per day. Rapid urbanisation, population growth, and the spread of single-use plastics have outpaced waste management infrastructure across the country.

The consequences are severe:

• Plastic pollution clogs drainage channels, causes flooding, and contaminates soil and water
• Open burning of waste releases toxic chemicals including dioxins, furans, and carcinogens into the air that communities breathe
• Dumpsites leach toxic substances into groundwater used for drinking and farming
• Organic waste rotting in landfills produces methane — a greenhouse gas over 80 times more potent than CO₂ over 20 years
• Communities near waste sites face disproportionate health burdens including respiratory disease, skin conditions, and waterborne illness

2. Our Approach — The Circular Economy

We promote a circular economy model in which resources are kept in use for as long as possible, waste is minimised at the source, and materials are recovered and regenerated. This is structured around a simple hierarchy:

Refuse → Reduce → Reuse → Recycle → Recover → Restore

Rather than treating waste as an end-of-pipe problem, we work upstream — changing the behaviours, systems, and policies that create waste in the first place.

3. What We Do

Community Education & Behaviour Change We run waste education programmes in schools, markets, households, and community centres that teach: how to sort waste at source, the health and environmental impacts of open dumping and burning, practical composting techniques, and how to reduce single-use plastic in daily life through reusable alternatives.

Youth-Led Innovation We believe young people hold the solutions. Our youth innovation challenges invite students and young entrepreneurs to develop alternatives to single-use plastics, new business models built on waste recovery and upcycling, community apps and tools for waste monitoring, and eco-friendly products made from recycled materials.

Strengthening Local Waste Value Chains We connect waste collectors, sorters, and recyclers — often informal workers — to markets, training, and support that improves their livelihoods while building a stronger recycling economy. We believe Uganda's waste pickers and recyclers are environmental heroes who deserve recognition and fair pay.

Piloting Zero Waste Models We pilot and document zero waste approaches in schools, markets, and rural communities — introducing appropriate, low-cost waste management solutions.

Policy Advocacy Behaviour change alone is not enough. We advocate for enforcement of Uganda's existing laws on plastic pollution, Extended Producer Responsibility, a national ban on the most harmful single-use plastics, investment in formal waste management infrastructure, and integration of waste pickers into formal systems.

4. The Interconnections

Zero waste is deeply connected to every other NGC programme:

• Climate & Energy Justice — Landfills and waste burning are significant sources of greenhouse gas emissions. Eliminating waste reduces Uganda's carbon footprint directly
• Community Empowerment — Community-led waste initiatives create local green jobs, build civic agency, and give communities ownership over their environment
• Animal Welfare & Plant-Based Advocacy — Reducing food waste and shifting to plant-based diets together dramatically reduce the environmental burden of Uganda's food system. Animals are also directly harmed by plastic pollution — wildlife ingesting plastics, fish dying in polluted waterways

5. Key Activities

• Annual Zero Waste Schools Challenge across Hoima and the Albertine region
• Community composting hubs turning organic waste into soil enrichment for local farms
• Plastic-free market campaigns in partnership with local traders and district councils
• Waste picker livelihood support and skills training
• Policy submissions to the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA)
• Zero Waste household pledge campaigns
• Partnerships with recycling enterprises to create end markets for collected materials

6. Key Facts (Uganda Context)

The communities living near Uganda's oil fields, refineries, and pipelines did not cause the climate crisis — yet they bear its heaviest costs. At Nect Green Code, we believe that access to a clean environment and affordable, sustainable energy are fundamental human rights. This programme sits at the heart of everything we do — because without a stable climate and a just energy system, no other justice is possible.

1. The Crisis We Are Responding To

Uganda's Oil Expansion In 2006, Uganda discovered over 6 billion barrels of commercially viable crude oil in the Albertine Rift region. Since then, the government — alongside TotalEnergies and the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) — has pursued four major projects:

• Tilenga Project — drilling over 400 oil wells, including inside Murchison Falls National Park, one of Uganda's most biodiverse ecosystems
• Kingfisher Project — oil extraction on the shores of Lake Albert, threatening freshwater ecosystems and fishing communities
• East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) — a 1,443 km heated pipeline running from Hoima, Uganda to Tanga, Tanzania, crossing rivers, wetlands, and the lands of over 100,000 displaced people
• Refinery at Kabaale — a major industrial facility planned for the heart of the Albertine region

Together, these projects are projected to emit over 107 million metric tonnes of CO₂ per year — more than the entire annual emissions of many African nations combined.

2. Who Is Most Affected

Environmental and climate injustice does not affect everyone equally. The burden falls hardest on:

• Farming and fishing communities in the Albertine region whose livelihoods depend on healthy land, water, and ecosystems
• Women and children who face increased vulnerability to displacement, food insecurity, and health impacts from pollution
• Indigenous and rural communities who have lived on and stewarded these lands for generations, often without legal titles to protect them
• Wildlife and ecosystems including Murchison Falls National Park, Lake Albert, and wetlands that provide critical environmental services
• The wider East African region whose climate resilience is undermined by new fossil fuel infrastructure locking in decades of emissions

3. What We Advocate For

A Just Energy Transition We are not simply against oil — we are for a better alternative. Uganda has extraordinary renewable energy potential, including solar, hydropower, geothermal, and wind. We advocate for: investment in affordable, decentralised renewable energy that reaches rural and off-grid communities; an end to public financing of new fossil fuel projects; energy policies that prioritise local community ownership; and a managed, fair transition that protects workers and communities.

Environmental Accountability — Holding TotalEnergies, CNOOC, and the Ugandan government accountable for environmental damage, displacement, and human rights violations; demanding full, fair, and timely compensation for all Project-Affected Persons; advocating for independent environmental impact assessments; supporting legal action by affected communities.

Policy & Legislation — Strengthening Uganda's environmental laws; advocating for stronger national climate commitments under the Paris Agreement; pushing for a fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty; promoting gender-responsive climate policies.

5. Our Key Activities

• Community monitoring and documentation of environmental damage caused by oil projects
• Legal and policy advocacy at national, regional, and international levels including the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights
• Public education campaigns on the health and environmental impacts of fossil fuel extraction
• Coalition building with regional and global partners including Stop EACOP and international climate networks
• Participating in UN climate processes (UNFCCC/COP) to amplify Ugandan and African community voices
• Supporting renewable energy pilot projects in communities affected by oil developments
• Media and communications work to bring the stories of affected communities to national and international audiences

6. Key Facts & Figures