The Haven…the escape from Kampala…

My sanity was returned to me last week!

One of the members of my Rotary club here is a retired German ambassador to Uganda and he learned that I was interested in rain water harvesting and invited me to visit a friend of his who is living near Jinja, 2 hours drive east of Kampala (For those who regularly turn in, Jinja is where I got my first Jigger!!!)

As we entered the gates to “The Haven” I was in awe of this beautiful little “resort”. A younger German ex-patriot has built his wonderfully designed resort to be completely eco-friendly.

The WHOLE place has about eight independent bungalows that are round and have views of the Nile River. All the electricity comes from solar power and the water is all harvested rainwater. Picture this…a round one story building with a wonderful papyrus roof, but built into the very top (out of sight) is a empty concrete swimming pool in the shape of a funnel…that water runs down and is conserved into a huge 10 000 gallon tank. This water is then filtered in the holding tank and is pumped into smaller tanks when needed.

He has a well and a generator ONLY for back up.

I am so impressed by this mans creativity…he is a electrician with a Masters degree and obviously a lot of talent and resourcefulness. It’s wonderful that he has constructed this in Ugandan without destroying or using up any of Uganda’s resources.

Please take a moment to check out his website www.thehaven-uganda.com

Now.,, there is no way I can describe this view, so have a look for yourself.

A day away from Kampala has done a world of good. I feel refreshed and de-stressed.
I want to head out to the village and spend a month on a project…I think it would be great for me to get out of Kampala.