Discover Bwindi’s Batwa Community
Discover Bwindi’s Batwa Community: The captivating Batwa community of the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park are also referred to as the forest’s custodians, having lived there for countless years. The government forced the hunter-gatherer Batwa pygmies to leave the dense forest of Bwindi when it was time to gazette the park. This aimed at protecting the once endangered mountain gorillas in their natural environment. Following their eviction in 1991, the Batwa pygmies made the decision to relocate to the park’s boundaries, where they gradually began to adopt the same lifestyles as other Bantu tribes.
They are known as the forest custodians because the Batwa pygmies are the original inhabitants of the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. Physically, they are short, diminutive people who used to hunt and pick fruits, harvest honey, and use bows and arrows to kill tiny game for food. Prior to the creation of the park, the Batwa pygmies lived in caves and tiny, grass-thatched dwellings fashioned of tree branches.
As you discover Bwindi’s Batwa Community, way back between 1991 and 1992, the Batwa people left the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park. During that time, the government ordered the Batwa people to vacate the park so that it could be gazetted as a national park. In order to save the park’s wildlife, particularly the mountain gorillas who were in danger of going extinct, the Batwa people were forced to leave.
After leaving the national park, the Batwa people now reside in the settlements that surround it as well as outside its borders. The Batwa pygmies were granted land to cultivate crops as payment for their agreement to reside in Bwindi Forest, so eliminating their need to slaughter the park’s small animals for meat. Presently, Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park safeguards around 600 mountain gorillas, along with 10 other primates, 350 bird species, and 120 mammal species.
A visit to Bwindi’s Batwa Community
In a bid to discover Bwindi’s Batwa Community, the Batwa people established the Batwa cultural experience to educate visitors to the park about the customs of the diminutive people who formerly roamed the Bwindi Forest and shared it with the outside world. The majority of visitors to the Batwa pygmies are people who are there to trek mountain gorillas in Bwindi impenetrable National Park and are interested in learning about their way of life.
During your gorilla safari in Bwindi, you can spend the morning or the afternoon visiting the Batwa homesteads. When visiting the park for a safari, this is one of the activities you should not skip. It takes three to four hours to go through the dense forest and reach the Batwa towns surrounding the park. The Batwa cultural experience begins at the Batwa craft shop in the Buhoma sector. Because the pathways leading to the Batwa settlement were thoughtfully constructed, the entire trip there is less taxing.
Porters can be hired for a reasonable fee by tourists who have heavy luggage, such as those who are travelling for filming. The porters come from the neighbourhood and are seeking employment so they may support their families and further their education. A native guide, who is also Batwa, leads the cultural experience and is well-versed in the tribe’s customs.
Travellers who would wish to discover Bwindi’s Batwa Community, may opt to begin with a nature walk through the jungle. The activity involves the Batwa guides narrating various facts about the jungle and their traditional methods of survival. You get the chance to learn about how these people used to survive in the jungle by going around the forest and picking fruits, gathering honey, and using bows and arrows to kill small animals. You will learn about several plants that the local traditional healers still utilise in their communities to treat illnesses while exploring the forest.
The Batwa community will greet you with open arms and provide you with entertainment in the form of dances and dramas. You will visit many houses and see a variety of individuals going about their daily lives’ women cooking, kids getting water, men digging, and so on. You have the option to sample their regional cuisine or assist in its creation. You will view some of the crafts produced by traditional healers, visit gift shops to admire their creations, and interact with elderly folks who will regale you with tales from bygone eras.
Cost of the Batwa pygmies’ Cultural visit
Since the Batwa cultural event takes place outside the park, you are not required to pay park entrance fees in order to take part in it. To enter, all you have to do is pay UGX40,000 for East African natives and $40 for foreign non-residents. Visitor fees are utilised to support the community’s members and expand a few of their enterprises, while also helping the Batwa people’s salaries. The Batwa give away items like clothing and school supplies to the less fortunate in addition to the money they gather.
What to carry for the Batwa cultural experience?
When planning a gorilla safari in Bwindi, travellers who would wish to discover Bwindi’s Batwa Community “Batwa pygmies” should pack essentials like bottled drinking water, energy-boosting snacks, long sleeves, a rain jacket since it can rain at any time of the day in Bwindi, strong hiking shoes and long cotton pants to wear through rough terrain, insect repellents, sunblock, binoculars, a camera and extra batteries.