Project Location: Teso Region (Katakwi, Bukedea and Kalaki) districts
Funder: Irishaid (through Trocaire)
Duration: 2017 to 2022
Status: Completed
Project Narrative: This project builds on LEMU’s work for over a decade towards the recognition and protection of customary land rights. It works to strengthen the implementation of customary laws for land management as documented by Iteso Cultural Union (ICU) by ensuring that these laws/principles are passed by district local governments as ordinances and therefore enforceable by state authorities. The project raised awareness about customary land rights and state laws and policies on land rights in Uganda. By educating communities to know from which families customary land rights are derived, the project develops disputes resolution tools such as the Family land rights and lineage tree which is used for restoration of land rights, especially for vulnerable members of the society such as women. The project has indeed contributed to evolution of customary land tenure, from one in which women were said not to have land rights to one in which equitable access to land for production is promoted, for example in 2020 alone the project reached a total of 1,732 direct beneficiaries.
