Edirisa Treasures: Our Cute Little Museum by the Big Gorgeous Lake
UPDATE, 20 August 2025: all exhibition panels added
For over 20 years we’ve poured our hearts into projects, adventures and memories at Lake Bunyonyi — and for almost as long we’ve dreamed of a little museum to hold it all. This week that dream finally came to life.
Andrea, an old friend and a true expert in the field, arrived with another cherished companion Canon Griffin. From Sunday morning to Wednesday noon we laughed, reminisced and worked side by side piecing together two decades of stories. By the end we were exhausted but glowing with pride and joy.
If you’d like to see the magic take shape we’ve shared the journey in our IG/FB Stories. Just look for “Treasures” at www.instagram.com/lake.bunyonyi. Here are the panels …
This is the story of the Gorilla Highlands Experts precursor organisation, Edirisa, meant to connect you with our history and inspire future action. In addition to the frames on the walls and the reading materials on the tables, there’s a growing digital archive online: www.gorillahighlands.com/treasures.
Edirisa (“window” in Rukiga) was born in 2001 in the equatorial village of Nkozi, at Uganda Martyrs University — as a club initiated by Miha Logar, a Master’s student of Ethics and Development. At the university he also met his future wife, Pamela “Maggie” Kanyunyuzi.
See on-site: yellow photo album
Edirisa’s first physical location opened on the grounds of Bufuka Primary School in 2002. Bufuka parents volunteered to level the sites for simple structures erected by local builders, paid for with the funds Miha received from his parents for a flat in Europe.
See on-site: red photo album
The centrepiece of what was named “The Heart of Edirisa” was the “canteen”, a house with the main window shaped as Edirisa’s logo. Originally envisaged as an information centre and kids’ library, the canteen’s functionality and design changed many times. It hosts the Edirisa Treasures now.
See on-site: red photo album
In 2003 Edirisa published “Lake Bunyonyi & Kabale In Your Pocket”, a booklet that matured into the free Gorilla Highlands Pocket Guide (in 2016 it incorporated Rwanda, in 2018 DR Congo). This became the backbone of an initiative to connect the three countries into a transboundary region.
See on-site: various booklet editions
Dugout canoeing has been at the core of Edirisa’s Lake Bunyonyi activities, beginning in 2005 with the 3-day Mother of All Treks. The canoe theme remains prominent on our compound: from the lakeside logo through seats made of an old “school bus” canoe to water points.
See on-site: Gorilla Highlands Info Kit with canoe treks
Edirisa invested in expanding the range of Lake Bunyonyi handicrafts, including bringing in Ugandan trainers and partnering with Slovenian industrial designers. In 2011 the crafts side of Edirisa was passed into the hands of Sheila Windridge’s Edirisa UK, as it became an independent organisation.
See on-site: Crafts Catalogue 2007 (internal), GEM 2011 discussion materials
Matjaž Švegelj’s “Explore Lake Bunyonyi” map (2003) marked the start of our mapping efforts, reaching their peak with an OpenStreetMap training session in 2016. We went on to create maps of all main attractions and major urban areas of the Gorilla Highlands region.
See on-site: Explore Lake Bunyonyi (internal)
In 2010 we published the “Creative Guides” teacher training pack, headlined by Ambrose Kibuuka. It was meant to support those who do “the most important job in Africa” and consisted of a video on DVD (30 minutes), a booklet, a workbook and hands-on training.
See on-site: Creative Guides booklet and workbook
Over a thousand international volunteers have left their mark on Edirisa, mostly in primary education and multimedia. Some found us individually, some through Carpe Diem Education (USA), i-to-i (UK), Grenzenlos (Austria), UCLL (Belgium), Wheeling2help (Greece/Cyprus), and others.
See on-site: volunteers’ workshop reports
We managed Festo Karwemera’s “Bakiga Museum” in Kabale from 2004 to 2015. Called “The Home of Edirisa”, it had a hostel, a restaurant and an art gallery. In 2005 we released the “Bakiga Documentary” about Karwemera and his museum. Samo Ačko gave the place a dramatic makeover in 2007.
See on-site: silver photo album and museum catalogue
Throughout the years, the Batwa “Pygmies” of Lake Bunyonyi and Echuya Forest have been our special partners. No surprise about it: Edirisa was built on the concept of cultural self-respect, and indigenous people whose natural environment has been taken away need it most.
See on-site: Batwa Folktales book
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