Iby’iwacu is loosely translated to treasure of our home in Kinyarwanda. This thrilling cultural village is a non profit project in Musanze, a town where volcanoes national park is located. Its major aim is to redefine the lives of ex-mountain gorilla poachers.
This cultural initiative provides basic facilities like water and education benefits to the people within so that their next generation can stay away from poaching gorillas and instead stick to a formal career.
This place should be a stop for you are trekking mountain gorillas or carrying out chimpanzee trekking in Rwanda. Iby’Iwacu Cultural Village offers a lifetime opportunity to meet and socialize with the locals within and get a taste of Rwandan traditions and culture.
There is so much to engage in. Some of the activities however, might require the consent and guidance from the locals.
Community walks
You can move around the community visiting different people and hearing their stories. You will be amaze at how much these people are friendly and hospitable.
Participate in traditional dances and music
You will also be treated to traditional music and dances. There are lots of dances and music in the kinyarwanda tradition like the Intore dances, learn about the Agakenke drumming styles and many more others. There are some popular songs they call the songs of the gorillas and you can learn about them too.
Visit the Batwa community
The Batwa are the indigenous people that live in the Volcano forests. They were resettled and the government gave them project to do to earn some money. They do things like pottery and weaving baskets. There are so many activities you can do with them. Imagine going through the daily life of these people. It is a good project to visit as it contributes indirectly to conservation since you are promoting the resettlement of these former poachers.
