HEARTBEAT UGANDA
The Busia District of Busia in Uganda has been an important centre for gold mining and production since 1930. Gold mining is mainly characterised by small-scale mining and the workers mine the gold manually. Raw gold, like other minerals, is a limited resource and stocks are continuously dwindling due to mining. The miners live from hand to mouth and cannot provide for their existence in old age. Over the past seven years, the Earthbeat Foundation has been studying the methods of gold mining and small-scale mining in the gold mines of Busia. It was found that the majority of the gold mine workers are engaged in small-scale mining to enable them to switch to alternative employment. Nevertheless, challenges remain as small-scale mining requires a high capital investment. Recently, the Earthbeat Foundation has launched a pilot project to provide permaculture and beekeeping training to mine workers. It is already becoming apparent that the mine workers are showing increasing interest in alternative sources of income. By comparison, these offer a sustainable way of securing their livelihood and are not nearly harmful to their health.