Trouble for Batwa “Pygmy” Communities: Successes & Failures
Our Batwa friends from Rwamahano happily received six months of accumulated funds this week. They got UGX 2,130,000 (USD 570) that we had saved from…
Author: Owen
Owen Bright Ahereza is a Gorilla Highlands guide with special expertise in the field of hiking trips and responsible visits to Batwa “Pygmies”. Accountant by profession, he also helps with finances from his home in Kabale (Uganda).
Trouble for Batwa “Pygmy” Communities: Lake Bunyonyi
We previously talked about Rwamahano, as an example of Batwa “Pygmy” groups we work with. These indigenous people originate from some of the oldest humans…
Trouble for Batwa “Pygmy” Communities: Echuya Forest
This week we accompanied the last group of tourists into the wilderness of Echuya Forest and to the famed ritual tree of the Batwa “Pygmies”.…
Thank You, Thank You, Thank You (Bunyonyi & Kabale 2008)
This is the eighth instalment of a weekly series that marks 20 years of Edirisa and 10 years of the Gorilla Highlands Initiative. Click here…
5 Historical and Cultural Curiosities of Lake Mutanda
Lying in between Uganda’s Mgahinga and Bwindi National Parks, Lake Mutanda is a handy spot to relax after your gorilla tracking. There is much more…
Sacred and Cursed Tree
The tree called ekiko among the Bakiga is usually known as flame tree but also red-hot poker tree or lucky bean tree in English. Its Latin name is Erythrina abyssinica. This tree is…
Dracaena, a Shrub That Watches over Boundaries
The plant known as omugorora among my people, the Bakiga, is called dracaena in English. The name comes from an Ancient Greek word “drakaina” or “female dragon”. It is…
The Secrets of Our Most Popular Ugandan Hiking Route
People people, it’s Owen again! I’m here to give you a personal take on our most popular trekking direction that goes through my home area.…
What I Learned from Hikers on the Gorilla Highlands Trails
One must say that the world is changing! As a guide leading trekkers across our region for over 10 years, I have learned a lot…
Your Uganda Adventure: Covid and Post-Covid Travel Advice
Dear all, my name is Owen Bright, I am from Kyabahinga on Lake Bunyonyi and I have been a Gorilla Highlands guide for a decade.…