Gorilla and Rwenzori expedition in Uganda

Environment

“Bwindi” meaning a muddy swampy place full of darkness by the local community is a home of over 10 species of primate of which we find the endangered Mountain Gorillas which have since attracted conservation efforts driven by the tourism activities in the region. Whenever one visits the forest they contribute 60%of there park fees to the community projects, 20% to improve park management and 20% to ecological monitoring and research aimed at conserving the remaining wildlife in this forest. Therefore you directly contribute to the conservation of the primate species during this adventure.

Since this expedition involves a lot of trekking, we need to pack a lot of water and food most of the time. For environmental purposes we strictly use Recyclable containers or Biodegradable paper bags to carry food and Plastic recyclable bottles to carry our water. Throughout the whole trip, we provide water in these recyclable bottles and collect them regularly in particular places where they are collected back to the factories.

Most of these Mountainous regions do not have hydro electricity from the National grid and so we get involved in the use of renewable energy like solar power in our camping and overnight lodges. This is good for our environment and has proven to be much cheaper in Uganda especially after installation.

In most of these mountainous regions we will use local transport like bicycles and motor-bike especially in Bwindi and Virunga in cases where the trekking is longer and the visitors cannot manage to walk the whole distance. This is also an option during the village walks and tour to distant remote places from our camps or lodges.

Community

This trip provides a lot of employment opportunities to the local people in most of the regions we visit for example; Bwindi, Virunga and Rwenzori where we carry out a lot of trekking. We use local people as porters or helpers to carry the luggage for a small wage. They also work as local guides during village walks and local markets since they are considered to be well versed with the places more than us.

There are so many local craft markets that we will meet during this trip giving the visitor better bargaining power and an opportunity to see how these craft are manufacture by the locals. We also get the opportunity to visit local schools and clinics that need support from tourists like donation like in Bwindi Nkuringo. During the free day we visit either a school or there local clinic and part of the tours fees you pay is contributed to support the children with stationery, clothing and medicine for the community.