Country: Rwanda

Organization: Wildlife Tours- Rwanda

Year the initiative began: 2007

Project Website: wildlifetours-rwanda.com/

Positioning in the Mosaic of solutions:

• Main barrier addressed: Corporate monolithic approach to tourism
• Main insight addressed: Incorporate sustainable practices

What is the goal of your innovation?
To ensure sustainable rural economic growth through the development of a sustainable and responsible tourism sector in conjunction with existing programs

How does your approach support or embody geotourism?
Our approach aims at preserving cultures and also re-surrect our culture in areas where assimilation and the associated negative impacts of colonialism or poverty led to culture changes whether impartial or not.
The overarching goal is to Increase Economic Growth and Improve Well-being the vulnerable poor people living in these communities. We recognize that spurring economic growth is dependent in part upon the continued support of community based economic activities like responsible tourism.
In partnership with the local authority and other key stakeholders, we are committed at helping communities living around Rwanda’s national parks become better stewards of their biodiversity, and integrating ecotourism development activities with other relevant development programs and priorities. We strongly build upon the innovativeness and inventiveness/creativeness of the young generation who are guided by some experienced elders in the community.

Describe your approach in detial. How is it innovative?
Responsible and Community tourism can play an extremely important role in the country’s healing process as well as in coming to terms with actual or perceived differences. Tourism can be a powerful tool for peace and reconciliation. A tourist does not care if the member of whichever socio-economic group provides a service. Accordingly, tourism can be a unifying factor that requires members of different groups to collaborate if they want to benefit. Instead of using our diversity as a cause for discrimination, tourism helps us to embrace it as a part of our history and heritage and come to terms with our past creating a favorable environment for constructive debate rather than dissention.
Our desire is to try and incorporate all these experiences at the cultural center. These differences and peculiarities are of fundamental importance to tourism and should, therefore, be harnessed as visitor experiences. As the Secretary-General of the National Unity and Reconciliation Commission(NURC) put it, “tourism contributes to identity building because foreigners act as uniting factors”
We use tourism in many ways; preserving culture, poverty alleviation, employment and capacity building, encourage innovations to yield the profits, and the unifying factor to mention but a few.

What types of partnerships or professional developement would be most beneficial in spearding your innovation?
We strongly encourage partnership between entities which excel in private sector development and those with proven experience in responsible tourism/pro-poor tourism and community development because it seeks to expand economic opportunities in the area through strategic partnership and increased incomes from both on-farm and off-farm employment.
We also focus on economic opportunities in rural areas that completely align with Small Micro Enterprises which enhance innovativeness and creativeness.

In one sentence describe what kind of impact, change, or reform your approach is intended to achieve.
Accelerate rural economic growth and re-launching cultural tourism in the villages based on traditional activities and hence preserves the Rwandese culture.

Describe the degree of success of your approach to date. Clearly define how you measure quantitative and qualitative impact in terms of how your approach contributes to the sustainability or enhancement of local culture, environment, heritage, or aesthetics? How does your approach minimize negative impacts?
a) Expanded Economic Opportunities Indicators • Percentage change in household incomes in the village and hence reduction on pressure on the biodiversity surrounding the communities. • Percentage change in the standards of living of persons employed or involved in the project hence builds sense of ownership. • Increase in the number of entities dealing in new products and services in the area that are more sustainable. b) Improve Private Sector Competitiveness: • Number of new innovations adopted that are environmental friendly. • Number of assisted enterprises within the project with potential to borrow funds from financial institutions that motivates community members in preserving the culture and protect the environment c) Rural infrastructure improved d) Rural finance more accessible e) Increase Handcraft/pottery/Artisan Products Indicators: • Percentage change in the market price of selected goods before and after value-added • Percentage increase in the volume of products marketed by assisted enterprises. f) Revival of pottery, dancing, bio mimicry, ethno botany cultural practices in the communities.

How does your program promote traveler enthusiasm, satisfaction, and engagement with the locale?
Through practical participation in community based activities that are very educational, enriching and experientially thrilling. This kind of interaction bonds relationship between the travelers and community members as they share experiences on different aspects during the course of the tours. Supporting of local communities in maintaining Rwanda’s biologically diverse areas which is the most pressing challenge and opportunity for their long-term sustainability also satisfies the travelers that visit the village.

In what ways are local residents actively involved in your innovation, including participation and community input? How has the community responded to or benefited from your approach?
The local residents play an important role in maintaining and protecting the Rwanda’s biologically diverse areas. We recognize their participation in conservation of those natural areas, by providing them incentive based activities in the village. They are involved in all project work right from inception i.e. design, implementation, evaluation and monitoring. The incentives basically replace their former unsustainable natural resource use practices which lead to significant degradation of resources and loss of biodiversity within these areas.

Describe how your innovation helps travelers and local residents better understand the value of the area's cultural and natural heritage, and educates them on local environmental issues. How do you motivate them to act responsibly in their future travel decisions?
They are very educative both to the traveler and local residents most importantly the young generation. Lessons of protecting natural the heritage is backed by finding alternative sources of incomes for village members living adjacent to the parks to reduce pressure on the natural resources. Through establishing and creating more enriching cultural sites in the communities which revived many cultural practices like traditional healing, bio mimicry practices etc. There has been massive re-launching cultural tourism based on the innovations of our project in the village.

Is your initiative financially and organizationally sustainable? If not, what is required to make it so? What is the potential demand for your innovation?
Organizationally yes but Financially no because we basically rely on fundraisings yet the economic base is very weak in the country and worse in villages because majority of people cannot afford two meals a day which explains their incapacitation. Organizationally yes, because on total completion, it will be 100% self sustaining with easy re-investment strategies. It’s being implemented in phases due to the financial constraints. The local people are very much committed and dedicated towards the success of the project. The initiator of the project is the main funder of the project and follows the implementation etc.

How is your initiative currently financed? If available, provide information on your finances and organization that could help others. Please list: Annual budget, annual revenue generated, size of part-time, full-time and volunteer staff.
Through organized fundraising from friends and well-wishers. Total required budget is USD 130350$. Anticipated annual revenues shall increase by 15% basing on the 2008/2009 anticipated revenue projections of 68572$.

What is your plan to expand your approach? Please indicate where/how you would like to grow or enhance your innovation, or have others do so.
Preliminary monitoring and evaluation plan is in reference to the activity goals, baselines, specific targets and benchmarks describing anticipated outcomes and impacts of the project. Information is being collected, documented and monitored over time in relation to the history of the area, and will be used as baseline to the activity to help with training of the younger generation on the culture of Rwandese, bond relationships and unity. Further, it feeds into longer-term monitoring of biodiversity and/or community livelihood impacts. Aspects of adaptive management, new info will be used to enhance project design and management.

What are the main barriers you encounter in managing, implementing, or replicating your innovation? What barriers keep your program from having greater impact?
Little coverage both in the media and in guide books about Rwanda’s many fascinating cultural activities aside from the gorillas. Rwanda’s protected areas are surrounded by a large human population whose economy is primarily based on subsistence agriculture. Communities living around these remaining natural areas have traditionally benefited from a variety of forest and resource-based products. Unfortunately, population pressures combined with unsustainable natural resource-use practices and poor management has led to significant degradation of resources and loss of biodiversity within these areas. Its therefore not easy to change the attitude because these expectations come from old generations etc. The Government of Rwanda has made an effort to decentralize administrative structures to the District level, and numerous challenges remain in the practical application of such decentralization. Obtaining the support of local communities in maintaining Rwanda’s biologically diverse areas is the most pressing challenge and opportunity for their long-term sustainability.

What is the origin of your innovation? Tell your story.
Currently I am self employed; after working for both the government and private companies; i decided last year in April to start my own business and i opened up a tours and travel company called “Wildlifetours – Rwanda” which offers unique tourism products through a number of tours branded uniquely of which include wildlife tours, community based tours, volunteer tours, project tours and in addition to our work; we do event management and consulting and technical work in tourism, conservation and management. As a Director General of my company; i have a lot of responsibility to ensure that my business succeeds and not only benefits me but also the communities that are involved directly or indirectly and this makes me do a lot of planning, product development in communities that are acceptable by community members, do training for my young Rwandan staff, involve in the product branding, marketing and promotion, liaise with local leaders and other stakeholder in the field of tourism, conservation and the public in general. I do help my colleagues to handle reservation and client complaints if any, do consultancy work for the company, plan events and manage events and last but not least help humanitarian projects get support from tourism through our project tours.

Please provide a personal bio. Note this may be used in Changemakers' marketing material.
I have guided and featured in many wildlife films in Rwanda and Tanzania for instance; BBC Wildlife Unit, Discovery Channel, Jack Hanna Adventures, Korean and Japanese Filming groups etc. Appeared in some journals like the Msafiri issue, Greg Shaw Photo Safari Website 2002/5, The Lonely Planet 2004/5 Edition acknowledgement by Nick Ray, Dianna Fossey Gorilla Fund International Journal (2002). Guided many prominent people including Bill Gates, Many ambassadors, Rwanda Cabinet, Rockfeller family, Jack Hanna, government dignitaries, etc.. In Volcanoes National Park, I helped Volcanoes Safaris in the development and implementation of the Business Linkage Challenge Fund before my transfer to Akagera National Park. I developed the interpretative programme for guides, designed infrastructure development plans for both parks, created ex-poacher associations in Ruhengeri among other many things.

Please write an overview of your project. This text will appear when people scroll over the icon for your entry on the Google map located on teh competition homepage.
• Sustainable rural community economic growth through the development of a sustainable and responsible tourism sector that is compatible with other existing and potential community development activities.

Contact Information
Mr. Mugisha Davidson
DIRECTOR GENERAL
Wildlife Tours- Rwanda
Mailing Address
david@wildlifetours-rwanda.com