The Batwa Trail and Garama Cave

The Batwa Trail has been started to try to bring in a small income for the many Batwa people in the area. The Batwa used to live sustainably from the forest but as populations grew and pressure on park boundaries grew ever more the decision was taken to move all the Batwa people from the forest.

This has caused many societal injustices. Somehow in Africa those people who still know the secrets of the forest and have the ability to live entirely off the land without leaving much of a tell-tale footprint, are looked down upon.

And so the Batwa had to leave their home and move outside park boundaries. In this new world of no forest (that had all been chopped down), they owned no land and had no experience in sedentary agriculture. Those who were willing to give it a go had to rent land and share-crop which they still do to this day. Many however found no quality of life and turned to homebrew.

Then UWA implemented the Batwa trail where a select few (different each time) take clients into the forest on either a 6hr walk or a 3hr walk to see how they used to live and to hear the stories that they used to tell. 

The four pictures above show how the Batwa used bamboo stems with knocked-through holes to collect and carry water on any forest expeditions.

A swara in the bush ...

At the entrance of a simle grass dwelling.

The Batwa would stay a maximum of 5 or so days in any spot so the dwellings were simple and crude but served the purpouse.

 

When an adult party went hunting young children were taken to rough tree platforms. Older children sat around the edges with bows and arrows ready to defend them against danger.

Making fires with grass and a stick! (No panga)

Garama Cave

342m long and used by the Batwa as a hideout after raiding neighbours or as a council chamber for meetings. The cave is uctually under flat ground rather than being set in a hillside. The entrance used to be very cleverly disguised so actually you would never know that it was there. It is very difficult to take photos in the gloom inside but this pic shows the entrance.

Periodic harvesting of the bamboo and collection of clean stream water is still allowed in the park but those who live on its boundary.

Muhuburah as we walked back

A small explosion crater in the view. Behind lays Lake Mutanda.

Now Magahinga is a great park to visit with enough activities to fill a week or more, there are the mountain gorillas, Muhaburah still to climb and canoeing the length of Lake Mutanda. ... and not to forget all the other volcano peaks still to do in Rwanda and Congo.