The Nyabaremura Batwa experiences perfectly introduces you to one of the Batwa communities to explore more about the Batwa pygmies, popularly known as the forest keepers. When the Batwa pygmies were evicted from the rainforest to allow Bwindi to be gazetted as a National Park, they relocated into the Nyabaremura community.
Nyabaremura community is one of the special Batwa communities where you can experience more about the Batwa culture and traditions. Visitors on a cultural walk to the Nyabaremura community get a chance to explore in depth about the sustainable lifestyle of the Batwa pygmies.
Guided community walks to interact with the Batwa are conducted with the lead of an experienced Batwa pygmy guide. This means visitors get first-hand experience about the Batwa from their own.
Nyabaremura Batwa community borders Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Southwestern Uganda. Besides the Nyabaremura, the Batwa also live in communities such as Kanyamahene, Higabiro, Rushaga, Bubaare, Ntebo, and Byabitukuru.
About the Batwa
The Batwa pygmies are historically popular as the forest people/dwellers. They once inhabited the present Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Mgahinga, and Semuliki National Park. Around 1991, the Batwa were barred from accessing the forests where most of their livelihoods mostly depended on and also served as their home.
Today, the Batwa reside around the edges of the National Parks and have become the marginalized group. They became disadvantaged following the establishment of Bwindi which played a role as their ancestral home. A visit to the Nyabaremura Batwa community for a cultural experience is a great opportunity for you to support the lives of the Batwa pygmies –a few indigenous ethnic group in Uganda.
The Batwa spent 1000s of years in the rainforest as hunters and fruit gatherers. They originate from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The Batwa are believed to have migrated from Congo’s Ituri forest to the forest in Southwestern Uganda primarily to look for wild edible fruits and bush meat.
Visitors can explore more about their lives, cultures, traditions and practices on a cultural tour at the Nyabaremura community which is not far from Gorilla CloseUp Lodge in Bwindi National Park.
The plan to evict the Batwa pygmies began in the 1930s during the colonial administrators’ era. The move was implemented early in the 1990s when Bwindi was officially declared a National Park/protected area. By declaring Bwindi Impenetrable Forest a Protected Area meant that the Batwa pygmies had to vacate the forest –the only place they knew as home.
When evicted, no compensation was done. The main reason for their eviction from Bwindi, Echuya Forest, and Mgahinga National Park was primarily to promote wildlife conservation and tourism. Evicting the Batwa to government was a wise idea to ensure safety of gorillas and chimpanzees from catching the infectious human diseases/illnesses.
Unfortunately, the Batwa had no place to move to and also given the fact that they were not familiar with life outside the forests, they resettled at the edges of the Mgahinga, Bwindi, and Echuya Forests.
Life after eviction
The Batwa settled at the edge of Bwindi, Mgahinga, and Echuya Forest but life wasn’t the same as that when they lived in their ancestral home. The new life outside the forest meant that the Batwa had to engage in farming activities, businesses, petty trade, and other initiatives to meet their daily needs. This was a strange kind of life practice that the Batwa encountered completely different from what they had accustomed to, especially fruit gathering and wild game hunting plus harvesting free honey in the jungle. Today, they reside with other tribal group amidst discrimination.
Outside the forest included carrying heavy loads by force to market areas. The Batwa never had any prior exposure to business or how it is conducted. After sometime, their cultures and traditions gradually disappeared. The renowned traditional habits of the Batwa included hunting, identifying herbal medicines, and collecting honey in the wild, etc.
Nyabaremura Batwa experience and gorilla trekking
Batwa cultural experience at Nyabaremura community can be combined with the gorilla trekking tours. Visitors can embark on gorilla trek and participate in the cultural tour at the Nyabaremura community.
Gorilla trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park involves walking through the jungle to search for a family group of mountain gorillas. Bwindi shelters a great population of mountain gorillas and treks can be done from any of the park’s four regions –Ruhija, Rushaga, Buhoma, and Nkuringo area.