1. exploring EMPLOYMENT
avenues in TOURISM + ART
To empower a forest hunter-gatherer tribe for sustainable employment
Angella Kyomuisha
Mwebaze John Baptist
Asiimwe Francis Xavier

2. CHALLENGE
background + basic info
• The Batwa are an African hunter-gatherer forest-dwelling tribe who were evicted
from Bwindi Impenetrable Forest when the government of Uganda gazetted it as
a National Park and world heritage site
• Until the mid 90’s, Batwa had lived a low-impact, environmentally-sustainable
lifestyle inside the Bwindi forest as hunters, deriving all their livelihood from
there
• Following the eviction, no targeted program to equip Batwa young people with
formal or life skills has been undertaken by government, civil society or the
private sector
• Illiteracy and an acute lack of vocational skills, therefore, hinder their chances
of gaining employment in their new communities
• Batwa are also generally considered an inferior tribe, subordinate to their
neighbours
• Therefore, the over 5300 Batwa youths are disproportionately marginalized by
unemployment compared to other youth in Uganda

3. OPPORTUNITY
method + metrics
• South western Uganda has a huge need for tourism professionals with a deep
cultural knowledge to engage the thousands of tourists who visit the park
every year
• Briefly, our solution involves 1,000 Batwa youth receiving targeted hospitality
training from youth volunteers who already have (or are receiving) a university
(post-secondary) education
• Thanks to a strong oral tradition, Batwa youths already have immense
knowledge of impenetrable forest, it’s plants and animals, accumulated over 2
centuries
• We are, therefore, leveraging these new skills and the traditional knowledge to
create employment for the youth in the tourism space
• The initiative will produce well groomed tour guides, interpreters, marketing
and booking agents, website developers as well as hospitality staff

4. OPPORTUNITY
method + metrics
• Enrolled student volunteers were first oriented on the language and traditions of
the Batwa people by selected Batwa youths and community leaders
• Teams of 3-5 Students from different tertiary institutions were then matched to a
needs group to provide at least 100 hours of practical training using a curriculum
developed by the project team in consultation with Batwa key informers and leaders
• During the training period, each needs group also, simultaneously, prepared a tour,
crafts or cultural performance package for the volunteer teams, deliverable at the
end of the training
• At the end of the 1 year project lifetime, we expect that a total of 200 volunteers will
have completed training at least 1,500 Batwa youths
• Youth groups which will have successfully completed training will be supported
using seed funding to establish tourism bureaus, while the rest become trainers of
trainers

5. IMPACT
outcomes + sustainability
Outcomes
Access to an 18-computer resource center has already been granted by our
partner organization for all computer-based skills
By the end of the 1 year project period, we expect that at least:
• 200 student volunteers recruited, oriented and deployed
• 1,500 Batwa youths trained
• 5 formally registered companies, with 1 operating in each of the 5 thematic areas
formed. Batwa youth groups must have a controlling stake in these companies
• 8,000 hours of training, skills and knowledge delivered
• 50 new jobs will be created if each youth-led company employs a minimum of 10
youths
Sustainability
• Since the entities created will be for-profit businesses, proper management should
ensure continuity of benefits to the Batwa tribe and surrounding communities
PhotoCredits:www.in2eastafrica.net
www.batwaexperience.com