Situated in Amuru district, Koc Goma Sub County, Amar parish Opok Farm covers approximately 2,600ha (6,400acres) that has been leased to Mr. S.L. Okec since 1975. The farm operated succesfully on 240ha(600acres) that had been cleared of forest until 1985, when insecurity in the region forced the family to abandon the farm.

The return of peace in the region has inspired the family of Mr. Okec to return to the now reforested land in 2007, to begin reviving what had been a source of employment, food (farm produce) and farm services in the sub-county. More specifically, the vision for developing Opok Farm includes the creation of a community based demonstration and learning center, that will target disadvantaged groups in Northern Uganda's post-war population with farm, household and personal skills for living on and adding value to their own land, as the resettlement process in Northern Uganda continues.

To this end, Opok Farms: an organically grown community is a CBO established in August 2007, among which the key objectives include:

• job creation through the demonstration of sustainable organic farming and value-added solar processing technologies
• facilitation of community based resettlement planning and the development of legal, farm and financial services targeted at the needs of the resettling population
• vocational training for IDP Camp youth in environmentally sound forest management and organic agricultural practices
• sustainable eco-tourism facilities targeted not only at foreign visitors but especially at Ugandan school and community groups
• practical, values-based boarding school education that imparts sufficiency-living concepts to Northern Ugandan child families and returnees

To achieve the above stated objectives Opok Farms will work in full partnership with the new Amuru District administration and a range of local and global partners.

• A foundational relationship has already been established during Phase 1 with Life in Africa, a network in Uganda that organizes grassroots communities to organize themselves.
• Preliminary discussions with the Catechist Training Center in Gulu also point to their likely involvement in developing agricultural training programs for IDP camp youth that will be implemented at Opok Farm.
• A group of students from Ubon Ratchatani University in Thailand will visit the farm in early 2008, to survey the feasibility of establishing a school for child headed families and returnees that is patterned after a model for practical, values based community education that has been successful in that country.

Phase 1 of the Opok Farm development (Jun-Aug 2007) has seen the recruitment of the first resident community of 25 laborers from nearby Koch Goma camp who have agreed to resettle for an initial 2 years to the farm. The workers are actively involved in developing the Phase 2 workplan, during which 65 re-cleared acres will be cropped organically, basic community housing and infrastructure will be constructed, and inputs will be sought for further development of the Opok Farms vision.

Phase 2 of the Opok Farms project is now actively seeking the involvement of additional partners and stakeholders in Northern Uganda, to enable the farm access to the following services and inputs required to move forward:

Mechanized plowing

Only 10% of the previously cleared land has been re-cleared to date, at an expense which will be too large for the farm to bear alone on the remaining 90%. Partners willing to open the land in exchange for their own temporary use of the land will provide a valuable cost savings.

Community health services

NGOs and/or District health services that are able to extend services to the planned Opok Farms community are invited to propose modalities for health care delivery partnerships.

Wildlife / environmental training & damage control

"encroachers" and charcoal burners are destroying the forest canopy at an alarming rate. Elephants thought to be in the area also pose a threat to worker safety. Opok Farm is thus seeking advice, legal support and training resources from national and district level officials that can assist in protecting the area's bio-diversity. A full environmental survey of the area is highly desirable.

Partners in vocational and specialized education

Financial and technical partners are sought to develop educational facilities and programs that specifically target vulnerable child-families with an integrated psycho-social, vocational and academic approach to contextual learning.

Organic export partners

Buyers of organic produce are invited to propose seasonal contractual terms for quantities of specific crops.

For further information about the activities ongoing at Opok Farm, contact Mr. Norbert Okec on issues related to land use /farming (0772 639 376 / nokec100 at yahoo dot co dot uk) , or Ms. Christina Jordan on issues related to development of Opok Farms community based social programs (0774 175 301 / christina4lia at yahoo dot com).