We launched our Pocket Treasure at Kigali’s Kamahwa-Tsobe last night! Quizzed by Fred Murwanashyaka, ML Rwebandira guided the cheerful audience through the project philosophy, hiccups and successes. Anticipation grew until, following the serving of delectable snacks, the box from Kampala was opened in front of everyone.
Among the excited first readers of the publication was Olivier Tuyisenge Pilote (centre), whose singing moved the crowd, and the co-owner of the lovely venue, Michel-Ange Legrand (behind).
The VIPs were members of Kigali’s Historically Marginalised People; known as Batwa “Pygmies” outside of Rwanda, the booklet gives special attention to their lost forest culture.
However, while the first few hundred copies looked presentable by night, today’s quality control session came with a stinging disappointment. We selected only the samples fit to be shown to potential resellers in Kigali and discarded the rest.
Not ready for the public!
Let’s see how our printers react.
📸 photography by:
Elie Cirhuza is a freelance journalist and digital communication consultant who volunteers for Gorilla Highlands Experts. Trained in agroforestry at Bethany Land Institute and a 2025 winner of the Jinsia Kwa Amani competition, Elie is from Bukavu, DR Congo. [bio updated: 2026-03]
🖋️ text and 📸 photography by:
ML Rwebandira — formerly known as Miha Logar — is an adventure and cultural tourism expert, writer and multimedia producer who co-founded Gorilla Highlands Experts. His most recent publication is the Pocket Treasure. A national of both Uganda and Slovenia, ML resides with his son Lan in Musanze, Rwanda. Click for his personality-infused quarterly newsletters. [bio updated: 2026-05]