Visiting the Imvepi Refugee Camp — Part I

Visiting the Imvepi Refugee Camp — Part I

This week, we visited the Imvepi Refugee Camp and the nearby city of Arua, Northern Uganda, on behalf of the Circular Refugee Camps consortium, together with co-initiator Peter Scheer from Semilla Sanitation/Nijhuis Saur Industries.

This is one of the projects we are most passionate about. We wholeheartedly believe in the mission of transforming refugee settlements, and it is inspiring to see the immense potential of circular resource management—a closed-loop system incorporating sludge collection, biogas production, composting, tree planting, and innovative education.

A highlight of our visit was the local health centre in Imvepi, where power supply through solar panels has been highly unreliable. Every twenty minutes, electricity cuts out, making it difficult—sometimes even impossible—to operate medical analysis devices and blood refrigerators.

But in just two months, the biodigester in Imvepi Zone 3 (with a capacity of 10m³ daily) will complete its first cycle of gas and compost production and provide gas cylinders for reliable energy to the health centre and a nearby school. The next step is a structured training program for operators – covering gas filling and application at health centres – set to launch in mid-May via the SkillEd platform, with three blended learning modules designed for effective knowledge transfer.

Throughout our time in the region, we also engaged in promising discussions with key stakeholders, including the Arua City mayor and representatives, the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), UNHCR, and local entrepreneurs. Our focus: exploring collaboration opportunities to drive sustainable development within refugee communities.

Soon we will share a video about this great initiative. Stay tuned!