Mawero, Busia
When we build, we want the communities around us to build with us.
At the Burlcore Foundation, our vision for a successful project goes hand in hand with the prosperity of our neighbours. Recently, our Community Development team sat down with 14 local residents in Mawero, Busia, to listen, understand their challenges, and identify how the Foundation can create meaningful, sustainable opportunities for the people living closest to our operations.
Two experienced artisans stood out. Each had a trade already valued locally, yet each was held back by the same gap: a lack of capital, workspace and reliable materials. The Burlcore Foundation is proud to partner with both of them, on terms that keep their dignity, independence and families at the centre.
Carpenter, father of seven
Ndegge: building under the tree, planning for the future.
Ndegge is a local carpenter who has long worked under a tree beside the mine, shaping wood in the shade with the tools he could gather. His craftsmanship is known in Mawero, but without a formal workshop or reliable materials, growth has been difficult. Keeping seven children in school is his daily priority, and school fees often absorb every shilling he earns.
Update: Ndegge has now received his funding from the Foundation, along with the tools and raw materials he needs to grow his carpentry business, from better blades and measuring equipment to a stock of timber. This is not a hand-out; it is a targeted investment in a trade that already supports a family, so that income can rise and school fees can be met with greater confidence. He is already back at work, with a steadier order book ahead of the new school term.
Latest: with his new tools and a stock of timber, Ndegge has taken on his biggest commission yet — a full bunk bed frame, built by hand in the yard beside his home. Larger jobs like this mean better margins, a growing reputation and a steadier income for the household.
Watch Ndegge's story below: the Foundation hands over funding, tools and materials.
Basket maker, displaced by the mine
Issa: weaving a new start after displacement.
Issa is a basket maker whose family was displaced by the mine. Living with the effects of polio, he has woven beautiful, handcrafted baskets for years with quiet resilience. Yet without a permanent workspace, his trade has stayed small, and the cost of setting up a proper shop has been out of reach.
The Burlcore Foundation is helping Issa pay to get his shop set up, and is covering a full year's rent, alongside starter materials so he can trade consistently from a single, dignified space. With the business on firmer ground, his own children can look forward to a more stable school year too.
Latest: Issa has now received his investment and has bought the materials and equipment he had been saving towards — bundles of coloured weaving strips and stock to work through. He is back at the weave, producing brightly patterned baskets and mats, and the Foundation expects to meet his new landlord this week to finalise the workspace.
Both trades are now standing on the support already given.
On our latest visit to Mawero, Issa had a full display of finished baskets and bags ready for sale — bright woven stock in every size, made from the materials the investment paid for. His family were around the stall with him, and the difference a dependable supply of materials makes to a household is plain to see.
Ndegge, meanwhile, is finishing his bed frame. The Foundation bought him a tin of varnish and a brush so the piece can be sealed and sold at a proper price. Both partnerships are now running on their own momentum, with the earlier support turning into steady, repeat work.
Issa is now actively looking for a shop to rent so he can trade from a permanent, secure space rather than the roadside. The Foundation will provide the funding for that rent once he finds the right premises.
A partnership for the future
By investing directly in Ndegge and Issa, the Burlcore Foundation is ensuring that the benefits of our presence are felt immediately by the community. We are not just supporting the region; we are helping to build local micro-enterprises that will support families in Mawero for generations to come.
