In the mid-1980s, Gwanda was a relatively wealthy community. Gwanda is located near Lake Victoria in Rakai District, where the staple crops are banana, cassava and sweet potato. Farmers also grow beans and groundnuts, which are used to make sauces or stews. Until the early 1970s, coffee was an important cash crop, but it has been neglected due to a decline in prices.
Most residents keep small livestock, including poultry, goats and pigs, and some people fish.
Productivity falls when a person becomes ill and dies, and it is also hit hard when family members must spend time caring for the sick, going to funerals and mourning the dead. This diminishes the family's food consumption, nutrition and well-being. The impact is even greater given that infection rates are higher among women, who normally carry the bulk of the farm workload in addition to their domestic activities. In Gwanda, farming is labour-intensive, with low levels of mechanization and little use of agricultural inputs. As a result, the community has been hit hard by the exodus of young people who choose to work in other sectors where the pay is better and the work not as hard.