The Beginning

I thought my conservation story began back in 1989. That was the year I first read about Dian Fossey and her dedication and heroic efforts to save the mountain gorillas. Her story touched me, and led to my continued education and career in conservation and eco-tourism.

But my real conservation story actually began in 2005. While serving as the tourism warden at Parc National des Volcans, a rumor began circulating about a poached baby gorilla for sale. At first, there was nothing particularly special about this – rumors of this nature always abound amongst the communities surrounding the Parc, but rarely have a basis in truth as the penalties for poaching are quite steep. Except this time. This time the rumor persisted. A sum of money and a remote jungle meeting place was named. Could I ignore this lead? I found myself at a cross-road, confronted with the danger of going to an isolated location with a large sum of money, to meet with people whom I had no idea of their intentions, but certainly weren’t well intentioned...... Would I, like Dian Fossey, be willing to give my life to save one baby gorilla?

The answer was YES. As part of a clandestine operation in cooperation with park officials, we raised the money. Disguised as a Swahili business man, I traveled to the remote jungle location to meet with the poachers. And to my horror, in exchange for a moderate sum of money, I was handed a canvas bag containing a baby gorilla. Arrests were made and the baby gorilla was delivered to the Karisoke Research Center to be raised.

Right then I asked myself WHY? Why would someone in today’s day and age poach a baby gorilla? How could this still be happening with all the conservation work, penalties and fines around poaching?

I didn’t have the answers. But the poachers and their families did. And when I visited them I was told: “Look at my children, my family. I have so many mouths to feed. The animals from the park – the buffalo and the gorilla – they come out of the park and trample and eat my crops. My family is starving. I know that poaching is dangerous, but the money will allow me to feed my family for one year. The decision is easy – I will feed my family.”

And I felt helpless. I knew in that instant that everything I had done to date in the parks of Rwanda and as the head of tourism for PNV and mountain gorilla trekking wouldn’t be enough. Poaching would continue and the mountain gorillas would eventually cease to exist.

My Epiphany

It was at THIS moment that my conservation story really began. With this new found understanding, I began dedicating my time to understanding the human-wildlife and wildlife-human conflicts. Returning to school, my masters’ thesis, “Ecotourism as a potential conservation incentive for local communities around Rwanda’s Parc National des Volcans,” was dedicated to this cause. I needed to find a way that the local communities would directly benefit from the park and the mountain gorillas – not just suffer because of it.

Through conversations with local community members, it became apparent that small scale household income generating projects can have an impact on the well being of local residents. They can act as an incentive not only for conservation but also as an alternative to poaching. Instead of poaching, time would be spent on either agriculture or on different income generating projects that target tourists as consumers. These include arts and crafts, development of home-stays, and local tours circuits.

The challenge was to prove that the concept work. Proving it would require a capital investment. How to get the money became the problem. Again, like my role-model Dian Fossey, I would need to be willing to sacrifice. The first investment would have to come out of my own pocket. I took my life savings and invested it in a few local community projects – agriculture, creating programs for local porters to assist tourists in carrying items on gorilla treks, local craftsmen carving hiking sticks and more. Several months later, people from the local communities were bringing produce to my door and thanking me for my efforts...and I had the data to prove that my thesis would work.

Thus began my crusade to create more funding opportunities. Armed with my data, I approached travel agencies operating in Rwanda, seeking to educate about the difference that donations of just 1% of their profits could make. And I decided to lead by example....

Projects

Thus, Rwanda Eco-Tours was born. With a mission to contribute 20% of profits back to the local communities and to educate the industry about sustainable tourism that will save the gorillas. Through Rwanda Eco-Tours we are able to contribute money towards local community projects. We have started with small scale efforts: returning poachers back to farming; creating community fields which can be shared by multiple families and yield enough product to feed them; and more. We have even succeeded in turning known poachers into volunteer park patrollers who now look out for other poachers!

Today these projects have been very successful.
While we are enjoying early success the issue is far from solved. We are constantly learning from these projects and adjusting our understanding. It is our dream and goal to ensure the longevity of not only the mountain gorilla but also the people that live with them.

What You Can Do

Currently, 50% of your park fees are donated to the ongoing conservation activities through ORTPN. However, more work must be done to continue to ensure the safety of the mountain gorillas and their habitat. You can help ensure that your tourism dollars are used to maximum benefit. At Rwanda Eco-Tours, we go one step further, donating 20% of our profits not only to the gorillas, but also to the local communities surrounding PNV, in an effort to foster a more direct link between the gorilla tourism and realization of local benefits. In this way, we invest in the gorillas as a renewable resource, encouraging the growth of the mountain gorilla population. See for yourself how we've put tourism dollars to work.

Currently, Rwanda Eco-Tours is the only tour operator that dedicates a percentage of profits back to the local communities. It is our dream that this will change. Whether you choose to work with Rwanda Eco-Tours or not, we encourage you to ask other tour operators what they are doing to contribute to the survival of the mountain gorillas and ask they set up a program to donate a proceed of their profits to the cause.

If you chose Rwanda Eco-Tours, you cannot only be assured that 20% of our profits are given to local communities, but for those who wish to do more, we can offer vacation opportunities that allow you to give of your time and energy as well. Please visit our custom tours section for ideas or contact us directly.