Project Results
The training centre, crafts shop, and a music, dance and drama performance unit are now being used to promote the culture of the Batwa as well as empower the community to utilize the natural resources within the protected areas sustainably to improve their livelihoods.
The training programs undertaken included life skills training to empower Batwa men and women; a vocational training aspect was emphasized especially in aspects of craft making using available resources in the environment. This training resulted in strengthening the crafts shop that sells items produced by the Batwa.
This partly generates revenue for the project and at the same time generates income to those that participate in the project activities. The music dance and drama mainly promotes the traditional Batwa dance and music
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MDD groups were constituted, trained and equipped with the appropriate traditional and modern musical instruments and provide cultural entertainment for the booming eco-tourism industry in Kisoro town and the neighbouring protected areas.
With the Batwa Cultural Centre now operational, the following are some of the result/impacts of the successful implementation of the infrastructure developments and capacity building activities of the project:
1. The Batwa now have capacity to engage Government and other development stakeholders. For example:
a) On 12/4/2018, Batwa Indigenous peoples were engaged in a consultative meeting that was organized by Ministry of Gender Labor and Social Development and UN in collaboration with UOBDU. This meeting was held at the Batwa Cultural Centre in Kisoro.
b) On 28/08/2018, for the first time all the IP?s in Uganda as described by Ministry of Gender labor and Social Development were able to meet and share a preparatory meeting organized and hosted by the Batwa Cultural Centre in Kisoro.
2. Members of the Batwa community now have access to support from Government and donor programs in form of livestock, low-cost permanent houses and irish potato seedling, leading to improvements in household livelihoods.
3. Beginning with 40 children in 2008, many Batwa children have progressively been assisted through donor support including tuition, scholastic materials and amenities which increased their participation, attendance in class and enhanced their performance. The Batwa community proudly celebrated the graduation of their first 3 university graduates in 2019 as a result of this program.
4. A total of 88 Batwa women and men have been commissioned as Women?s Right?s Defenders (WRD?s). Having undergone various trainings in human rights, leadership, communication, entrepreneurship skills and the use of the Penal Code, the Batwa WRD?s are now embedded among their various communities to handle human rights violations and also help report the same to different authorities.
5. As a result of improved governance, UOBDU Annual General Meeting regularly elects a new Board after every two years.
6. Since April 2012, UOBDU with the support of The Abubilla Music Foundation started implementing a project responsible for promotion of Batwa cultural heritage, supporting the performance of music and drama to local audience by six Batwa dancing groups from different communities. The formation of the Batwa dancing groups has led to other developmental ideas including: savings and credit associations that provide financial services to improve their economic situations by enabling members access credit; sale of recorded CDs/DVDs and albums; and production and sale of local handcrafts.
7. In order to prevent diseases associated with poor sanitation, 32 pit latrines have been constructed in Batwa communities in an effort to improve toilet coverage.
8. Because of the now frequent heavy downpours in Kisoro which lead to loss of lives, houses and terrible landslides with massive erosion, UOBDU now employs a field Agronomist to introduce soil and water conservation technologies through hands on trainings among Batwa farming communities especially Irish potato farmers. The priority soil and land management technologies that are being practiced are; terraces, contour bunds, grass bunds, conservation agriculture, agroforestry, woodlots etc
9. Batwa households in 40 Batwa communities have been provided with 30 Watts solar panels that can light up to 5 bulbs for a single household while others got 3-way lighting hand lamps.