The Volcanoes Partnership Trust is a division of Volcanoes, projects that give back to the local communities.
The community project at Kyambura works to empower women through coffee making, from picking the beans in the fields through extracting, roasting and the final product. This cooperative project supplies all the Volcanoes Lodges (and some others) coffee, as well as giving guests the chance to come and see the organization for themselves, and bring home some Ugandan coffee, roasted on demand when you order it.
Our group wanted to get out and explore the local culture, walking through the hills along a dirt road to the coffee plantation, learning about the project, was inspiring. Nicole, who has been leading the coop has been here from the US for 7 years, originally came to study the chimps, but fell in love with the country and stayed. She has some wonderful visions about how to expand, creating more jobs for the local women, building a stronger revenue source for years to come.
Following the coffee tour, our guides Sam, and Adrian took us into one of the nearby villages - a bumpy, muddy, dirt road, small shacks (stores), clay-brick houses - the children chasing the vehicle with their hands reached out to touch ours. As soon as we got out of the car we were surrounded, children running to us in every direction, smiling, grabbing our hands, some standing back with a shy hesitation. This was like nothing I've ever seen, in some places the children come and begging for money, items, something for you to give them. All we had were our cameras and the kids went crazy for us to take their pictures and show them. The mothers, warm and friendly, smiling watching us all interact.
Entering into some shops, we tried some banana beer, and banana gin - the beer, was alright, other than the thick texture, it wasn't that bad. The gin...not so much, it was like moonshine on steroids. Went into a little super market and bought some little packs of curry powders, and a banana leaf hat for $5 from an elder.
It's frowned upon to give out money, or items to the children, unless you have something for everyone - overtime it gives them the idea they can just ask for it, end up not going to school to beg from tourists, and for us, ruins the authenticity of just interacting with the locals. There is a good website if you do want to help the communities you're visiting - Pack with a Purpose - here, you'll find items in need specific to the regions, arranging for them to be given to the appropriate people to be dispersed.
It brought tears to my eyes when we left here, such an intense feeling to see the joy on their faces, to think about the life they live everyday, and everything we have that we take for granted sometimes.
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