Settling Into New Homes: Q1 2019 PROGRESS UPDATE

The Batwa community and their families thanks to the support of Volcanoes Safaris, are taking great strides at the beginning of this year to settle into their new homes and community. Since the project got underway in 2018, about 10 acres of land have been purchased with plans to build homes, a community center and sequester land for agricultural and recreational use. The homes were completed in early 2018 and the official launch of the village took place at the end of May 2018. All in all, the Gahinga Batwa community is comprised of over 100 adults and children whom have not had permanent homes since they left the Mgahinga National Park over 25 years ago.

The Batwa are now practicing farming with VSPT support, providing this community with farm inputs to enhance food security. Integrated adult literacy classes are underway to offer the Batwa people the opportunity to learn how to read and write. In addition, health education, treatment, and monitoring is taking place by an appointed village nurse and other health workers.

Project Name: New Batwa Settlement
Organization Name: The Volcanoes Safaris Partnership Trust
Year Grant Awarded: 2017
Progress Update: Quarter 1, 2019 Project Update

Permanent Settlement to Batwa Pygmies - Q2/3 Progress Update

Q2/3 Progress Update: One hundred adults and children of the Gahinga community of Batwa pygmies now reside in the permanent settlement made possible by the Volcanoes Safari Partnership Trust (VSTP), with a community center and 18 homes that were designed and built by the Batwa on 10 acres of their own land next to the Mgahinga National Park in Uganda. Farming plots for each family were marked and are now being cultivated, along with the acquisition of 12 sheep and 2 goats, with a goal for the Batwa to be able to harvest and sell produce in the future, The Gahinga Batwa Village was officially opened on May 31st, with representatives of the Kisoro District, Uganda Wildlife Authorities, and the United Nations GRASP in attendance along with gorilla doctors and the local community. Looking forward, local authorities are assisting in the implementation of health, water and education programs to ensure a satisfactory quality of life for community members.

About Grantee: The Volcanoes Safaris Partnership Trust (VSPT), established in 2009, is a non-profit organization that connects Volcanoes’ Rwanda and Uganda luxury lodges to the neighboring communities and conservation activities. The VSPT aims to create long-
term, self-sustaining projects that enrich the livelihoods of local communities, promote the conservation of the great apes, restore natural habitats and work with communities and institutions to reduce human-wildlife conflict.

Project Summary: The project will provide a permanent settlement dedicated to the Gahinga community of Batwa pygmies, a group of about 90 adults and children, who were displaced from their ancestral homeland in Mgahinga twenty five years ago and who have been living as marginalized landless squatters since then. Their ancestral land was gazetted as a national park to promote mountain gorilla conservation. 

Project Nominated by ATCF Member: Volcanoes Safaris
Project Name: Permanent Settlement to Batwa Pygmies
Grant Amount: $16,500
Grantee Name: Volcanoes Safaris Partnership Trust
Location: Uganda

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Permanent Settlement to Batwa Pygmies - Uganda

Q1 Progress Update: The Volcanoes Safari Partnership Trust (VSTP) has made considerable progress in creating a permanent settlement for the Gahinga community of Batwa pygmies. A site of about ten acres of land was acquired next to the Mgahinga National Park in Uganda, and the construction of homes for 18 families (105 adults and children) is well underway. The VSTP aimed to move many of the Batwa community members into their new homes by mid-April, with the official opening of the village set for May 31. In addition to homes, a community centre will be completed soon, along with farming plots for each family. The community will spend the next three months preparing these plots to grow local food crops such as potatoes, runner beans, maize, and millet.
 
“The trustees of VSPT are delighted to be a recipient of the 2017 ATCF funding grant!
The funding will directly assist with the building of the Gahinga Batwa Village. The Batwa pygmies are a highly marginalized group of indigenous people who have existed in extreme poverty near the Mgahinga National Park in Uganda since they had to leave the park 26 years ago. Thank you to all the ATTA members who voted for this project. We are extremely grateful for the financial assistance awarded and the awareness that this will bring to the plight of the Batwa as well as the wider conservation-community issues around the gorilla parks." - Kevin James, General Manager

About Grantee: The Volcanoes Safaris Partnership Trust (VSPT), established in 2009, is a non-profit organization that connects Volcanoes’ Rwanda and Uganda luxury lodges to the neighboring communities and conservation activities. The VSPT aims to create long-
term, self-sustaining projects that enrich the livelihoods of local communities, promote the conservation of the great apes, restore natural habitats and work with communities and institutions to reduce human-wildlife conflict.

Project Summary: The project will provide a permanent settlement dedicated to the Gahinga community of Batwa pygmies, a group of about 90 adults and children, who were displaced from their ancestral homeland in Mgahinga twenty five years ago and who have been living as marginalized landless squatters since then. Their ancestral land was gazetted as a national park to promote mountain gorilla conservation. 

Project Nominated by ATCF Member: Volcanoes Safaris
Project Name: Permanent Settlement to Batwa Pygmies
Grant Amount: $16,500
Grantee Name: Volcanoes Safaris Partnership Trust
Location: Uganda

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