Senior Dani Dirks had dreamed of visiting Africa since she was a child. Over the summer, she was finally able to do so when she became involved with The Real Uganda, a grassroots organization that places volunteers with the local organizations, orphanages and schools. Dirks was placed at the St. Isaacs Community Training Center, a small family farm based in Kanigoga, Uganda. There, she and other volunteers trained local villagers in sustainable farming methods.

On the two-acre farm, Dirks taught villagers various methods of producing matooke -- a type of plantain and a main staple of Ugandan people --  peanuts, oranges, tomatoes and other vegetables.  “Double Dug is the signature method of farming that St. Isaacs trains the villagers in because it has the greatest production value,” Dirks explains. “This method produces high yields of crops in smaller spaces.”

Dirks, a fine arts major with a minor in economics, says this knowledge allows rural families to not only produce food for themselves, but also sell excess produce to earn an income. Those who learn the farming methods go on to become volunteers themselves, sharing their knowledge with their neighbors.

Her experience in Uganda, coupled with her entrepreneurial spirit, inspired the honor student to establish Matooke Clothing, a company that will donate a portion of all sales directly to the St. Isaacs Training Center to support poverty alleviation and education. Dirks says the logistics of the running the company became clear with the help of Associate Professor Garland Kirkpatrick and his Senior Thesis course. She plans to unveil a Web site in November and begin selling T-shirts.
 
“The goal is to branch out into fashionable accessories, dresses, pants, skirts, blouses and menswear with the help of Los Angeles designers and design students,” she says. “We also hope to create employment opportunities and skills training for Ugandans."

Dirks says her time in Uganda was the experience of a lifetime during which she made many friends. “The extreme poverty mixes with a love of laughter and joy throughout the countryside and makes relationships the most important part of Ugandan life.”