The project
Project type: Existential threat prevention, Eco Tourism, Education and Hospitality · Location: Rushaga Tourism Sector, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park · Status: In development, credits available. A video introduction by Project Founder Julius Tumwikirize is on our Videos page.
The Batwa, or 'Twa people
The Batwa indigenous people are a tribe believed to be the first people that lived in the great mountains and forests of Virunga and Bwindi. In 1991 the Batwa were evicted from the forest — their ancestral lands — by the government. They received no compensation and no help with relocation. The Batwa have lived in the forests of Africa for thousands of years; today there are roughly 3,000 Batwa left on earth, facing extreme poverty, landlessness and extinction threats due to Climate Change.
The majority of the Batwa live in impoverished conditions and are some of the most vulnerable people in Africa today — threatened by isolation, discrimination, climate change and malnutrition. Batwa people are currently scattered across the country; BIEP raises funds to buy land for the Batwa, construct improved houses and grow food, working toward a Batwa food store and bigger food gardens to end hunger in Batwa communities.
What CAN is doing
CAN is creating Centres of Excellence (COE's) that are also agri research & production centres around Hemp Hurd, Fiber and Food production. We will prove the viability of growing Industrial Hemp that will create a large amount of employment as well as sequestering huge amounts of Carbon.
We also intend to build samples of quality Hemp Housing as models that could replace the shacks and substandard housing for the Batwa — current clay-brick practices extract clay from nearby mountains and degrade the land and environment.
BIEP experiences
Visit a school where Batwa children study, walk through the neighbouring community to the Batwa settlements, and discover how the Batwa used to live in the forest. At the forest edge of Bwindi you may meet the Rwenzori three-horned chameleon, Regal sunbird, Blue-headed sunbird, Green-headed sunbird, Black Crake and more.
Unlike other museums worldwide, BIEP offers a living museum where the Batwa of Rushaga-Bwindi present live artefacts of forest life: special trees for fire making, caves, the tree-house, grass-thatched houses, hunting snares, spears, arrows & bows, medicinal plants, honey storage and sacred places of their God Nyabingi Nyamugasani.
Forest-edge birding around Bwindi Impenetrable National Park — Regal sunbird, Blue-headed sunbird, Green-headed sunbird, Black Crake and many more.
A special 5-hour hike up the Kiezi hills around Bwindi forest to view Lake Mutanda, the Virunga volcanic mountains of Kisoro (Gahinga, Muhavura) and panoramic views of Bwindi forest.
Meet the founder
CAN Uganda Youth Ambassador Julius Tumwikirize leads the Batwa Indigenous Empowerment Program. Watch his introduction on the Videos page.
Get in touch with CAN to learn more about supporting the Batwa — through ecotourism visits, funding or partnerships.