Young, Black, and gifted leaders across the globe are actively leading innovations that seek to create solutions to the multitude of challenges the world faces, and Dorcas Lukwesa, who is set to enact change in Zambia, is among them.
Earlier in 2021, the social entrepreneur won the Resolution Social Venture Challenge (SVC) at Mastercard Foundation’s Baobab Summit for her project, Mobile Aquaponics — a social venture that aims to combat the drastic impact of climate change.
Mobile Aquaponics
As climate change disproportionately affects poor rural communities, Lukwesa’s Mobile Aquaponics concept is mobile, sustainable farms designed to help farmers who face limitations, Forbes reports.
The project is a compartment system made of bamboo that promotes fish and vegetable farming while recycling water, according to the young founder.
Opportunities For Smallholder Farmers
Along with promoting sustainability, Mobile Aquaponics plans to support women farmers.
“We project to reach over 2,000 rural women farmers over the next five years,” Lukwesa shared in a statement. “We hope that our farmers will be able to replicate the idea by building their own aquaponics systems using locally available bamboo and improving agricultural production and livelihoods, so that no girl will spend a term out of school because of lack of school fees or a uniform.”
Impact In Zambia
At the forefront of Mobile Aquaponics’ mission is to help reduce poverty in Zambia. From the experience of creating her urban farm, Lukwesa hopes to bring it to where she grew up.
“My plan is to replicate the system in my rural community back in Zambia to improve the sustainability of food production and nutrition in marginalized communities,” she said. “I also plan to work with other female smallholder farmers to incubate this idea at CAMFED’s climate-smart demonstration farm in Chinsali, Zambia, training young women to farm fresh fish and vegetables locally, sustainably and using local natural resources.”
