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It’s been almost a year since we established Brick by Brick, a locally managed construction business, using environmentally-friendly technology to build water and sanitation systems, as well as school classrooms and other buildings. Led by Manager Max Ssenyonga, our team of eight skilled masons have constructed ten rain water harvesting tanks, three libraries, and are about to begin our largest project to date, the construction of a classroom/library at Lwamaya Primary School.

We have also embarked on an ambitious marketing plan to broaden and expand our customer base. This will include appearances on local radio programs, road side advertising, and community education and outreach. In addition, at the request of our masons, we have designed and produced new uniforms, which have been received with tremendous enthusiasm. Our goal is to create a successful and profitable business that will address the need for quality construction, sustainable solutions to critical gaps in the availability of safe water and sanitation, while generating revenue for our community-based programs. So far, our business model is proving successful and everyday we are learning more of what it takes to make an ambitious project like this work. Stay tuned!



The goal of Brick by Brick, our latest social entrepreneurial pilot project, is to create a profitable business in the Rakai and Masaka districts of Uganda that will generate revenue to fund the many school-based programs that make up Positive Planet. In January 2011, we began by training eight masons in the use of the Interlocking Stabilized Soil Brick (ISSB) presses. This environmentally friendly technology uses pressure rather than wood burning furnaces to create bricks, therefore reducing the energy requirements in the construction process. We are hoping that the pilot program will evolve into a locally managed construction company that will be profitable and serve the needs of the community.

This month we completed our first construction project, a 10,000 liter water tank for the Matale Hill Parish in Kalisizo. Click below to view two videos of the brick-making process and the actual construction of our first tank. Brick by Brick is off to a fast start with 12 customers waiting for our services. See Laying the first blocks



IN MEMORY OF ROSALIE SKLAR

| December 12, 2010 | 10:43 am | Uncategorized | No comments

           Rosalie Sklar

Rosalie Sklar, a long-time supporter of Positive Planet died peacefully on Saturday, December 11th. Rosalie was a lifelong advocate for social justice. She requested that donations in her memory be made to Positive Planet.



Poultry Project Update

| October 5, 2010 | 11:26 pm | Uncategorized | No comments

We are eight months into Positive Planet’s Poultry Project and everyday we are learning more. Our goal is to create a sustainable and profitable business to support a school lunch program for over 800 students. We have faced many challenges, from water shortages due to draught, to poor quality of feed. With the support of Jonathan Blanchard, a Peace Corp volunteer working with Positive Planet and Egg Module (www.eggmodule.org), we are now able to monitor production on an almost daily basis. This is allowing us to respond quickly as conditions in the field change.

Our most recent partner, Professor Jacquie Jacob, of the University of Kentucky, is providing much needed expertise in poultry science which is already showing results. Check the Positive Planet blog for regular updates.



Raising Voices (www.raisingvoices.org) is an organization located in Kampala, working to prevent violence against women and children. From August 25th through the 27th, Positive Planet facilitated a workshop led by Raising Voices, designed to address the problem of corporal punishment in Uganda’s primary schools. Sadly, corporal punishment, while officially illegal is pervasive throughout Uganda. Since 2007, Positive Planet has been working with teachers and administrators to confront this problem and discover humanistic alternatives to corporal punishment.

Twenty-one teachers from six Universal Primary Education schools participated in the workshop. Positive Planet will work with Raising Voices over the coming year to ensure that each of our schools develops a plan of action that begins the process of change. Stay tuned for more on this exciting initiative