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UPDATE, April 2019: The Gorilla Highlands Batwa Jamboree has been moved from Easter to Christmas 2019 (more here)

Have you come here because the #IAmGorillaHighlands campaign has made you wonder? Good — and welcome!

The Gorilla Highlands idea has always been about respectful and helpful tourism, with the Batwa “Pygmies” as one of the main beneficiaries. These amazing people have a practical problem: tour guides can — and unfortunately often do — take advantage of their lack of English. Exploitation of the Batwa gets much easier when they cannot directly relate with their guests.

That’s the first reason why we will be working with them on English language skills, utilising volunteers from the Gorilla Highlands region and beyond. The second one is the upcoming Batwa Jamboree, a grand meeting of the Batwa from four countries. They will convene at Lake Bunyonyi during Easter 2019 to share their knowledge and compete in cultural challenges, based on the idea by the Rwamahano Batwa community. One of the days, Easter Sunday, will be open to domestic and international tourists, and there will again be a poignant need to be able to communicate.

But #IAmGorillaHighlands is not about English of course… It’s about building the Gorilla Highlands Society together, and we really want everybody to take part.

7 years in the making, the Gorilla Highlands Initiative is now ready to grow into a popular organisation … We need thinkers, we need doers, we need fundraisers, we need supporters. What role will you play?