Water is needed to sustain life in many different ways and is absolutely essential to develop a vegetable garden at Mayega. Although so close to Lake Victoria, the rainfall is sparse and unpredictable leading to a sandy, arid environment. However, Busega Scotland is nothing without ambition and with piped water and a fence, the Mayega Teaching Garden is taking shape. The land was secured through careful negotiation by Arnold Barrow and Ernest Damiano (Co-ordinator of the Mayega Water Group) with the village authorities and we have been granted a 25 by 15m plot, adjacent to the Children’s Centre. Training Garden? The plan is to teach the children horticulture as a life skill and do something similar with villagers, in collaboration with the agricultural extension service. The District Water Engineer, Mohamed Yamlinga, is also talking about trialling simple irrigation techniques – watch this space!