Working with teachers keeps me learning every day
04-11-25
When Damasco Okettayot, a PhD student from Northern Uganda, talks about education, he calls it “the mother of all professions.” For him, teaching is about learning, and learning is about transforming communities to be environmentally sustainable.
By Elena Adamo
Born in 1972, Damasco Okettayot grew up in a different Uganda from today – as he explains – when Makerere University was the country’s only university, and access to higher education was limited. Despite this, after earning a Bachelor’s degree in mathematics, chemistry and physics, at precisely Makerere University, he secured a rare opportunity to pursue a Postgraduate Diploma in Teacher Education on a government scholarship, which opened the door to a career in teacher education. Later, Damasco obtained a Master’s in Educational Management and Administration and, in 2022, he enrolled for a PhD in Education at Gulu University.
While progressing from being a graduate tutor to becoming principal, Damasco realised that teaching teachers is also a form of learning. “When you teach teachers, you actually become a learner yourself,” he says.
The real meaning of black charcoal in Northern Uganda
In 2022, Damasco joined the UPCHAIN project as a PhD researcher at Gulu University. The Danida-funded project – Unlocking the Potential of Green Charcoal Innovation to Mitigate Climate Change in Northern Uganda – aims to address the environmental damage caused by deforestation and traditional charcoal production. Here, his belief that teaching is a form of learning continues to guide his work as a researcher focused on environmental education. From teachers’ classrooms to rural villages in Northern Uganda, his PhD research now connects knowledge with action, demonstrating how education can foster environmental change.
Nevertheless, in Northern Uganda, charcoal is more than fuel; it is a livelihood. After decades of conflict, many people rely on it as one of their few sources of income. Outsiders and Ugandans from other parts of the country, have also exploited the land, clearing forests for commercial charcoal. “They cut – even uproot – everything,” Damasco says. The destruction became so severe that the government banned the commercial production and sale of charcoal in Northern Uganda.
This is why the UPCHAIN project brought together researchers from different fields to explore cleaner energy options. Green charcoal is an example: it is made from agricultural waste such as maize cobs, groundnut shells or other plant residue instead of wood from trees that have been cut down for the purpose. It burns more efficiently, produces less smoke, and helps reduce deforestation.
While Damasco’s colleagues focus on developing and testing innovative green technologies, he draws on his years as a teacher educator to explore how environmental education can help communities understand and embrace sustainable solutions.
The mother of all professions, for the benefit of the environment
By improving teachers’ knowledge and practices, Damasco hopes to help communities recognise the value of green charcoal, especially by reaching out to young people, the next generation of decision-makers, and creating a collaborative network with the community. “My research considers education as a social tool used to transform communities. And this is why I think education is the mother of all professions,” he says.
However, it is not a matter of reinventing the wheel. Environmental education already exists in Ugandan schools, though not as a standalone subject but as a cross-cutting approach woven into different disciplines. Early findings from Damasco’s research show that teachers already integrate topics such as deforestation and sustainable energy into their lessons to a moderate extent. The goal, he explains, is to understand how and to what extent this happens – insights that will inform how teachers and teacher educators can build on existing practices.
Global perspectives and lasting change
Damasco hopes his work will continue beyond his PhD studies and benefit teachers, students and communities. By combining teaching, research and practical projects, he believes education can drive lasting change – in line with Sustainable Development Goal 4, which promotes quality education and environmental stewardship worldwide.
“If we get environmental education right,” he says, “we can transform lives and communities, and protect our environment at the same time.”
“In Uganda, us teachers, we have a motto: the nation is, because we are, and because we are, the nation is”, Damasco Okettayot
