As co-owner of the successful Chalford foundry Pangolin Editions, Rungwe Kingdon always dreamed of giving something back to Uganda, where he spent a wonderful childhood.

But when he hit on the idea of combining his passion and expertise to introduce bronze casting to the country, little did he realise the challenges that lay ahead.

Now, after securing thousands of pounds worth of sponsorship and a 'monumental battle' for visas, three Ugandan trainees have arrived in Chalford for a three year apprenticeship that will change the history of art in their country.

"I HAVE wanted to do it for years and years," said Rungwe Kingdon, from his workshop at Chalford Industrial Estate. "But you have priorities so it stayed on the back burner."

The foundry has a strangely theatrical feel. As we walk round the side of the building, parts of half-completed sculptures in every shape, size and style imaginable lie in fragmented splendour.

Inside, sparks from welding machines fly like fireworks, as men in goggles and protective jump-suits work on what looks like half an aeroplane wing.

The place has the feel of a film set for a science fiction remake of the Old Curiosity Shop.

Pangolin, which Rungwe owns with business partner Claude Koenig, specialises in producing fine art sculptures, turning the visions of artists such as Damien Hirst into a metallic reality.

First, a mould is produced from the artists' model, which is filled with molten bronze at 1200 degrees Celsius. The final details are painstakingly finished by hand to create an exact replica.

A small piece might cost £1,000, while larger sculptures can cost hundreds of thousands of pounds.

"We work for artists," explains Claude, as we watch some of their 60 employees in various stages of the production process. "Our relationship with them is the equivalent of a conductor's with a composer."

Although it has a strong visual arts culture, Uganda has no tradition of bronze casting. Rungwe's plan was to offer an intensive three-year apprenticeship to three carefully chosen individuals, who would then be able to train other people in a foundry he is hoping to set up at disused copper mine in Kilembe.

"Uganda tends to buy a lot of the souvenirs it sells to tourists from Kenya and Tanzania, which is a crazy situation," he said.

"We thought if we built a foundry there it would do several things. It would offer employment, be good for the visual arts and create training opportunities."

Rungwe and his colleagues interviewed about 50 people and chose Emmanuel Basaza, 28, Patricia Waniala, 25 and David Bwambale, 32.

David was a carver from the Ruwenzori Mountains, while Emmanuel and Patricia were fine art students from Mackerere University in the Ugandan capital Kampala.

"We were looking for talent, technical skills and leadership qualities, because they will be taking the skills back to Uganda," he said. "We need them to learn the skills so they are absolutely second nature, because they will be training people there.

"But it took a monumental battle to get visas for them. They fell between every category. They weren't working and they weren't in education."

After Stroud MP David Drew became involved, Emmanuel, Patricia and David were eventually granted permission to come to the UK. The trainees, who are seven months into their scholarship, have rapidly adjusted to life here.

All three have joined churches in the Five Valleys and are learning to drive. Nevertheless, braving the English climate in December came as something of a culture shock.

"Getting up at 8 o'clock in the morning and having to go to work with a torch was funny," said Patricia, from Mbale. "In Africa, the weather doesn't change very much," added Emmanuel, from Kasese.

"And when it looks like it's going to go dark, it just goes dark. Here, it takes a long time and you can have four seasons in one day."

As well as creating opportunities in Uganda, the exchange opens up exciting possibilities for art in the Five Valleys.

Like Rungwe, I am fascinated to see the creative offspring that will emerge now that a link between two very different cultures has been forged.

"The Uganda project is a two way thing," he said. "It's an exchange of arts. Art and craft are universal languages."

"I think that's the icing on the cake," added Claude. "After making something happen for Uganda, there will be this double exchange of ideas."