Empower the Batwa

Since this forest is home to the critically endangered mountain Gorillas there is a huge travel and tourism industry but the Batwa are not trained for jobs in this field.

The National Park employs hundreds of park attendees but currently only 1 of these employees is a Batwa. There are some real signs of improvement and change as the first Pygmy Batwa person graduated from college in 2010 but there is so much more to do.

The key areas of my volunteering are to help in developing Batwa to sustainable agrarian ways on land that was finally given to the Batwa and to help train them for jobs in the park itself and tourism industry around the critically endangered mountain Gorillas – and for two weeks I get to be part of this transformation!
 
Even though the Batwa population is dropping quickly, the overall population has grown so much here around the park and infrastructure hasn't developed in line with other places. There's no electricity, although there are development plans being implemented now, and very bad roads, making opportunities linked to the outside world, even the nearest city, and a big challenge for these people.

BATWA in Uganda - 2002 census report put the Batwa at 6,705, but the pygmies had now reduced to about 3,000
Mountain Gorilla’s – 880 left in the wild in the world (critically endangered)

Who are the BATWA? The forest peoples (the Batwa tribe) of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, are thought to be one of the oldest groups of people inhabiting the earth. Their societies date back nearly 60,000 years, compared to 14,000 years for most peoples of the world.

The first human contact the Batwa forest people had was around 2,000 years ago, with the Bantu people (Bakiga tribe) – pastoralists and agriculturalists who had migrated north from what is now Rwanda and Congo.

The Batwa have a history of hunting and gathering and, in the last century, they've suffered massive social and cultural changes - mostly as a result of incoming farmers and pastoralists and later through conservation initiatives.

Despite their rich cultural heritage, they're now one of the most impoverished and isolated tribes in the world. Regardless of the many problems they face, the Batwa have much to teach our Uganda volunteers about the world we live in.

As human pressure on the forests, deforestation and poaching of rare and endangered species increased, these tribes were formally evicted from the remaining forested areas and lost their last rights to access their land.

Many of them now squat near the perimeter of this massive park in primitive conditions, living partly from illegal hunting and honey gathering. Without the money or skills to make a new agricultural life for themselves, they mainly work as laborers for land-owners.

Since their eviction 15 years ago, the Batwa have been unable to compete on equal terms with other ethnic groups outside the forest and today they remain one of the most marginalized tribes in Uganda.

They have been unable to own much land, to grow food, or have any real access to education and healthcare. With forest access taken away, incomes and food security have seriously declined. A further issue contributing to the hostility between the park and the local communities, trying hard to sustain livelihoods around agriculture, is crop raiding by wildlife such as baboons and bush pigs.

The Bwindi impenetrable forest park has become an island forest in a sea of rural farmers and timber trade, and there's no transition zone between park and pasture. Apart from the civil disruptions that occurred in Uganda in the 1970s and 1980s, the main pressures on Bwindi Impenetrable National Park have come from the buildup of human populations on its boundaries. Bwindi is particularly threatened by agricultural encroachment, small-scale logging and poaching.

However in many ways, Bwindi is a model for other tropical forest conservation projects and can definitely claim success by stopping the rapid deforestation of this ancient forest and in raising the population of mountain gorillas; a rare and endangered species.

Volunteers discover that there's a lack of community involvement in the management of the park and not yet enough awareness around conservation and sustainable resource management. It's been said that local people have lost their mind-set once rooted in the conservation of nature - because they often don't have a choice.

Despite this, many locals that once opposed the protection of this gorilla habitat are really starting to protect it themselves as they realize that gorilla conservation is starting to contribute to the local livelihoods around Bwindi, particularly through tourism.

Brian celebrates his 50th birthday with a volunteer trip to Africa

When I think of turning 50 I feel many things–I feel fortunate to have so many wonderful people in my life and I feel loved. I feel that the best thing I can do for my 50th year celebration is to do what I love most – spend time with friends, spend some quiet reflective time, and to close the year by giving back to others.  I hope you will join me on this special adventure.

I have found that the thing that makes me the happiest is to help other people. In this hectic world it’s hard to find time to be able to give back. I thought this would be perfect for me to get away from the office and to be able to focus on giving back.

This will be my second volunteer trip with Africa Impact, my first was in 2012. It was on that trip that I learned about this type of volunteering. It’s an adventure, it’s hard work, it feels good to learn about other cultures and learn how to help. It was also on this project that I learned that I could collaborate with them and do my own project that is very specialized… I am excited that I am doing that on my 2015 trip!

Uganda is a landlocked country right in the heart of Africa and lies astride the equator. A lot of the country is at high altitude so has a really pleasant climate and is mostly very green! Known as the 'Pearl of Africa', Big Beyond Uganda volunteers discover it has all of the stunning diversity Africa has to offer, in just one destination.