This involves responsible travel, which includes taking steps to conserve the environment and improve the lives of the local people. By providing financial benefits and social empowerment to the local people, tourists can be sure that they are doing everything in their power to benefit the environment and the people of the country they are visiting, instead of simply using their resources. In so doing you get extensive experience and knowledge in tourism and conservation which allows you to experience the natural and human wonders of the country, as you encounter the beauty, the people, the culture, the nature and the spirit of Rwanda. It is about giving back to the community in places we visit to change lives, to protect and conserve our environment and the life of our people. While with our tours in Rwanda, we will take you to visit most of these projects with the communities and if you have time you can have a hands-on-experience through active participation.
Iby’wacu Cultural Village is a Non-Profit umbrella organization that aims at improving the lives of reformed poachers and communities around Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park through provision of conservation incentives, supporting community enterprise development and livelihood based projects. Iby’wacu Cultural Village gives you a rare chance to meet local people, in their environment, with a taste of our culture and traditions. The community you visit will genuinely welcome you as a special guest while they proudly present to you aspects of their traditions and beliefs. This will truly be an experience of a lifetime as you home stay with the community and become part of their family.
The village is fascinating with a variety of cultural experiences it can offer, and probably the best way to get to know the local people, their culture, and their ‘ways of living” is to take part in daily life activities. Agricultural tourism will be part of the wider experience where guests will join local people when they go to their agricultural fields to work and learn about their work, harvest and participate in food preparation and making processes like millet grinding using stones, carrying potatoes and water on their heads, and attend lessons and participate in preparing a local dish i.e. (Ubugari, Igikoma etc).
The wider part of experience is IGITARAMO, where all gather around camp fire, with drums and local dances before sunset, where stories, riddles are recounted by storytellers of the old Rwanda with everyone seated around the fire. Every evening the village members gather around a campfire and begin a session of storytelling and dancing. Most of the time after trekking gorillas, tourists don’t have what to do; this is the utmost time for other activities to supplement tourism outside the park.
1 comment