She speaks with a calmness that feels earned, the kind that comes from years of learning the rhythm of land, animals, and seasons. Ask her to introduce herself to a stranger, and Peace Kayezu takes a moment, as though choosing the truest version of herself.
A family woman who is into farming, recreation and culture. Her friends describe her differently: an inspiration, especially those who knew her at 13 when she was already tinkering with plants and curious about farming.
To them, she is a reminder that passion can be steady, soft, and transformative. Some call her creative, but she shrugs it off. She knows the truth of her life: the land has always spoken to her.
Her story into farming began with a question that kept tugging at her: why do young people think farming is boring? Ten years ago, the thought grew stronger. She watched a generation drift away from the soil and wondered why agriculture lacked excitement in their eyes.
‘They think it’s not fashionable,’ she says.
‘They don’t see value in it.’ She wanted to change that. She wanted a farm where learning didn’t feel like punishment, and where agriculture could be playful and modern without losing its roots.
‘Something you want to do’
Her solution was bold: blend farming with recreation. If young people thought farms were dull, she would build one that felt alive.
At her farm, you milk a cow and then cool off in a swimming pool, plant in the garden and then head to a basketball court and prune an orchard and then take a quad-bike ride.
She wanted farming to feel like something you want to do, not something you escape from. That vision would eventually become Kaynela Farms Limited, a place where agriculture, leisure, culture, and tourism live under one sky.
The name Kaynela itself is a quiet treasure. It comes from her and her children. The dream began much smaller. They started with banana plantations, pineapples, and fishponds. After Covid-19, the economics of matooke shifted; they were giving away more than they sold.
Kayezu did her research and discovered plantain had better returns. They switched, adapted, and thrived. That adaptability became a hallmark of her entrepreneurship.
Today, Kaynela Farms, located in Kayunga, stretches across 200 acres and feels like its own world. The orchard alone is a fruit lover’s passport, with apples, dragon fruit, kiwi, coconut, citrus, grapes, strawberries, as well as vegetables, poultry, rabbits, goats, cows, donkeys, horses, ostriches, and even crocodiles.
There is a black soldier fly station, where protein-rich larvae become sustainable animal feed.
There is an aviary so large and varied that the proprietor only hints at the species inside, smiling as though the mystery is part of the charm. And then there is the sports hub: a football pitch, basketball court, tennis court, volleyball pitch, and netball court.
It feels less like a farm and more like a living campus, a place where farming meets play, culture meets curiosity and a visitor can walk through orchards, pat a llama, eat traditional food, and finish the day enjoying a basketball game.
In her bloodline
Interestingly, Kayezu did not formally study tourism or agriculture. She studied Business Administration. ‘It’s just passion,’ she says. But farming is in her bloodline.
Her mother and siblings are farmers. She was raised in a tempo of planting and harvest, the quiet certainty of soil and seasons. And then there is her partner, Faisal who is born and raised in urban Kampala and craved a village setting somewhere close.
He loves animals while she loves plants which makes the harmony of their work clear and complementary.
To fine-tune their idea, the couple did research and learnt by visiting people within and outside Uganda. Ultimately, they sought to put together a place which would give visitors a semblance of homeliness. She says: ‘When young people come here, they feel like they are home, not in a lodge where you’re restricted.’
That feeling, the freedom to explore, touch, try, and play, is her real accomplishment. She believes agritourism is Uganda’s next frontier. ‘Tourism is changing. People have seen the animals.
After that, then what?’ she asks. Kayezu believes farms can offer experiences traditional tourism cannot: cultural immersion, food storytelling, hands-on participation and authenticity. She adds, ‘If we add agritourism to our itineraries, we will sell better than just safaris. We have cultures that are not talked about.’
GASTRONOMY IS A JOURNEY
One of the most distinctive experiences at the farm is the food, not the taste alone, but the philosophy behind it. Peace Kayezu is particular about calling it gastronomy, not culinary. ‘Gastronomy is a journey from the garden to the table,’ she explains. It begins when matooke is harvested. It continues with the peeling, steaming, wrapping, smoking, and storytelling.
The final meal, eaten on banana leaves, under an orchard, surrounded by the scent of firewood, is part of the narrative. ‘This is not a restaurant in Kampala,’ she says. ‘I want you to feel like you are home in the village.’ The presentation is rustic, beautiful, and meaningful. Banana leaves are abundant at the farm; using them is practical, cultural, and aesthetic.
The juice is fresh from the garden. The food reflects Uganda’s heritage in ways that feel both old and newly appreciated.
Every December, the farm hosts a three-day cultural gastronomy festival from December 24-26 during which chefs from all regions of Uganda are invited to prepare indigenous foods and storytellers to relive traditions.
There are band performances, dances, bonfires, and cultural exhibitions. When she looks back at everything she has built, Kayezu smiles. ‘I am very happy, proud of the team, and excited for the future.’
The farm establishment is not simply a business to her but a way of reshaping how young people see farming, a place where culture sits on the table, visitors can feel at home, and Uganda’s past and future meet. Before she ends the conversation, she adds one last line- soft, humble, and inviting: ‘Thank you for thinking about Kaynela. And please come and visit so you can have the real experience.’