Maria Baryamujura
Through her non-profit organization, Community Based Tourism Initiatives (COBATI), [www.cobati.or.ug/] Maria Baryamujura is developing community-based tourism that allows people to use their culture and livelihoods to benefit from tourism, creating sustainable rural lifestyles, and expanding tourism offerings to capitalize on the growing sector in Uganda. Maria is combating urban migration by helping rural households and communities in Uganda to reap economic rewards from tourism. She is changing traditional perceptions of what constitutes tourism by turning various aspects of rural living and environment into tourist attractions, and creating income-generating activities for rural people. Maria is empowering rural people living in resource rich areas in Uganda, who are disadvantaged by rural poverty, to improve their family incomes through tourism in the framework of small homestead enterprises. These household enterprises form the basis for infrastructure development and other government services, providing incentive for people to stay in rural areas. Maria creates a new understanding of tourism among visitors, rural communities, international and local tour operators and government officials. To tap into the increased tourist traffic that accrues from this new definition of tourism, she organizes rural communities into a network of viable and sustainable community-based tourism enterprises as competent service providers. She then turns these successful community based enterprises into role models for other households and community groups to transform their homesteads and livelihoods into income-generating ventures.
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I would like to share the amazing story of the 7,000 Polish people who were exiled to Uganda during and after World War II, between 1942 and 1952. Some 100 of them are buried in a cemetery in a village 100 km east of Uganda's capital, Kampala. Many people from Poland are not aware of this piece of history concerning their citizens, who suffered the worst atrocities of World War II. Perhaps there are survivors or their relatives who may be interested in the site. I foresee a possibility of developing historical tourism between the people of Poland and Uganda. The site is marked with a memorial stone bearing the names of the dead (see picture) where i took a Polish Visitor in 2005. The cream marble memorial stone was the good work of a Polish priest who lived in Uganda. Read more...
Tourism in Africa has not benefited local people. The broad population is excluded from mainstream tourism. Traditional packaged safari tourism practiced in Africa leaves no benefits to local people. It offers no cultural interaction and is mainly focused on wildlife and protected areas. Tourists travel non-stop through rural villages, taking with them tourism benefits and opportunities to lodges and hotels operated by international operators and their rich local partners. Unlike agriculture, where local people have access to markets, tourism has barriers to entry, particularly for rural communities, yet they can offer unique tourism experiences by sharing their lifestyles, cultural heritage, green environment, indigenous knowledge, organic foods and rural hospitality.
There is need to break down the walls that have for long separated local people in Africa from the benefits of tourism by educating Western tourists to change their holiday behavior and contribute to the places they visit. There is a need for travelers to Africa to shift from products to experiences, to travel independently using local service providers of small accommodation and travel activities. Instead of driving through villages in safari vans heading for national parks, they should divert to local villages, get involved and make contact with local people. The shift in attitude of Western tourists from traditional packaged safari type of tourism to interactive holidays will direct travelers to rural villages, moving them away from products to experiences in areas rich in activities, interacting with local people and learning from each other. These holidays are mutually beneficial for both guests and their local host villages. Read more...
