In 2015 Martin took a training on sustainable community development from African Leadership Uganda. He grew up on a farm outside Gulu, Uganda and was well aware that the land he inherited from his father was a valuable asset. But without hearing the pressing challenges from others around him, he wasn’t sure he could offer any help.

During the course, various members of the community opened up about how hard it was to turn their crop of corn into enough cash to afford school fees, housing, and medical needs. It was then that Martin realized his other asset; the knowledge he inherited from his father. Martin’s dad was a land surveyor for the British during colonial occupation of Uganda. From them, he learned the major cash crops that grew well in the rich soil of northern Uganda.

Martin’s childhood was not spent farming corn or cassava like so many of his neighbors. Instead, he had learned how to plant walnut trees around a 1 acre perimeter plot. Under the shade of these huge trees, coffee could grow abundantly. Coupled with a few other highly profitable crops, a local African farmer could make more than $4,000 off of a 1 acre plot of land.

During his community development course, he found his passion for teaching farmers throughout the region how to build and maintain 1 acre cash crops that could comfortably care for a family of 5. Through the reach of his local church, he was connected to more than 80 additional churches in the region to share this news and process with. Now, Martin spends his days encouraging local families to provide for themselves and save for their children’s future by farming a 1 acre plot of land for every child in the family.