How community-based tourism transforms lives in Kamwenge

For over two decades, the town of Bigodi, nestled within Kamwenge District, has experienced a transformative impact on the lives of its residents through community-based tourism initiatives.
With the Kibale National Park nearby, tourists began flocking the area in the 1990s, opening up new opportunities for the locals to engage in various enterprises.

Among those who have transformed their lives is Agnes Kobusinge, a 57-year-old resident of Bigodi Trading Centre.

Ms Kobusinge manages a collection of craft shops, a venture she embarked upon in 2007, with a humble initial investment of Shs430,000. Sixteen years later, the business has triumphed to a substantial capital exceeding Shs10 million.

“I have come a long way in my business. I used the earnings to put my two children through university and expand my retail shop,” she says.

More than 200 women from the Bigodi community have followed in Ms Kobusinge’s successful footsteps. 

Rather than only focusing on the park’s animals, visitors have a chance to explore villages around the park. They also get to join in various community activities for which they pay the residents.
To help tourists connect with these communities, travel companies have been set up around Bigodi. These arrange activities such as village nature walks, learning local skills such as cooking and basket weaving, and watching how local drinks are made.

Mr Alex Kakuru, a resident of Kikusya Village, who has for the past 10 years specialised in making local brew for tourists, says his life has been transformed.

“When tourists visit our area, they are eager to see and learn how we make local brew, and I am always ready to demonstrate the process. In a week at my home, I can receive about 30 tourists depending on the season,” he says.

In exchange for their participation and engagement, tourists offer monetary compensation, clothes, and other goods.

This has enabled Mr Kakuru to join three village savings groups, purchase goats, build a house, and establish a poultry farm.

Mr Adolf Magoba, the Bigodi Town Council chairperson, said the town has witnessed remarkable growth and development due to increase in revenue.

“Community tourism has greatly improved the lives of people here and as a town council, we are also benefiting because we get revenue, some schools have been built, not by the government but by the community using their own money from tourism,” Mr Magoba says

Benefits
In 1992, Kibale Association for Rural and Environmental Development (KAFRED) was formed, with its flagship project being Bigodi Secondary School.

Although, the school was taken over by the government in 2018, it stands as a testament to the power of community.

Mr. John Tinka, the programme manager of KAFRED, says 90 percent of the revenue is invested into the community.

He says they raised more than Shs30 million to build the secondary school, eliminating the need for children to travel more than 30 kilometres to access education in Kahunge Town Council.

In 1993, women in Bigodi founded an association that eventually led to the establishment of the Bigodi Women’s Progressive Nursery and Primary School in 1995. 

The school, which caters for students up to Primary Seven, was entirely financed through the sale of handicrafts.

Ms Sarah Night, a member of the women’s group, reminisced about their humble beginnings when they pooled Shs200,000 to start a nursery school with just one teacher and 13 children under a tree at the Bigodi Health Centre III.

The tourism industry has also flourished with the establishment of hotels, lodges, and tour companies and as a result, the price of land has since doubled.