11 Day Inspirational Women of Rwanda Tour Package

Package Overview

What is the true meaning of a great holiday? At African Unique Safaris and Tours we measure our tours by how long your experiences and incredible memories stay with you after you return home and how impact and inspiring those memories are for rest of your life.
With that in mind we have put together what we consider to be one of the world’s most inspiring and memorable tours, not just for its incredibly unique wildlife experiences but because of this countries story from ruin to being one of the world’s safest countries and most progressive leaders in East Africa.
At the forefront of this incredible re-emergence are the women of Rwanda. Rich in color, history, resilience, skill and community building, they are a true success story of rebuilding REMARKABLE RWANDA and have the largest representation in parliament in the world at 65%.
On this tour you will see the rare and magnificent Mountain Gorillas, other primates, safari animals and stunning vistas, and we will get you in touch with the daily lives of Rwandans with immersive authentic experiences taking you in to their daily lives, micro businesses, skills and rich culture both ancient and recent to show you the heart of this inspiring country and their incredible story.”
The Team at African Unique Safaris and Tours.

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Day wise Itinerary

• Day 1 : Arrival and City Tour

  Upon arrival at Kigali Airport in the morning, you will be met by your African Unique Safari and Tours representative and your driver guide. They will take you to your hotel for check in and provide a tour briefing including a cultural orientation.
  From there we proceed to the Kigali Genocide Memorial. In order to fully appreciate the progress, resilience and spirit of the women of Rwanda you need an appreciation of the tragedy and depths of despair that occurred during and after the 1994 Genocide. The memorial is extremely transparent, educational, challenging and ultimately strangely inspiring as you admire the remarkable reconciliation efforts post genocide. It all takes in an unfathomable context when you realise there are over 200,000 people buried onsite.
  From there we begin the journey of lifting your spirits as we visit the remarkable women of Nyamirambo Women’s Centre.Nyamirambo Women’s Centre (NWC), a Rwandan NGO, was launched at the end of 2007 by 18 Rwandese women living in Nyamirambo, Kigali. Together they created a project which aimed to address gender-based violence, gender inequality and discrimination. Today, NWC’s mission is to provide education and vocational training to women who do not have the means to pay for such training on their own, so that they can gain better opportunities for employment.
  At the end of 2013 NWC launched the product line “Umutima,” which means “heart” in Kinyarwanda. With this project, NWC trains and employs women from the community to create a large variety of women’s accessories, children’s clothing, and home decor products. At the moment there are over 50 women employed by Umutima as seamstresses. Umutima and NWC have grown into a unique, self-sustaining model where the profits earned through Umutima are used to fund NWC initiatives, in addition to providing benefits and a fair wage to the seamstresses.Nyamirambo Women’s.
  First up is the Walking Tour of Nyamirambo:
  This tour begins at the Women’s Centre with a traditional snack, a quick Kinyarwanda language lesson, and an introduction to the Center and its activities. It then weaves through Nyamirambo, one of Kigali’s oldest neighbourhoods. Along the way guides lead participants into a women’s hairdressing salon where the adventurous type can get a free braid; into a family compound to pound cassava leaves; by two mosques and a lookout view over Kigali; and into a tailor shop to feel the fabrics you’ll otherwise see styled on the streets.
  Then we will take a Traditional Cooking Class with Aminatha:
  From market to meal, every step of the process of cooking is shared by Aminatha and participants in this tour. After buying produce and ingredients at several markets the group walks just around the corner from the Center to Aminatha’s home. There they get to work at a wooden table in her courtyard, chopping countless vegetables and starting the charcoal stoves. Under the guidance of Aminatha six traditional, delicious, and gratifying dishes are prepared and then shared by all involved.

• Day 2 : Women Micro-entrenprenuers of Rwanda

  After breakfast, you will embark on a drive towards Akagera National Park to visit two amazing Women’s Coops.
  About 1 hour from Kigali is the Women’s Opportunity Center (WOC) which is a multi-faceted facility with a focus on the most marginalized women.
  The WOC is designed as a central meeting place that bridges the gap between urban buyers and rural farmers. It is also a place for rural entrepreneurs to incubate businesses, gain new skills, and transition from subsistence farming to larger-scale entrepreneurial farming. The innovative and eco-friendly design, created by awarded-winning architect Sharon Davis, is built on a five-acre campus. From the entrance along a well-travelled road, market stalls are readily accessible to the public. On thegrounds of the WOC, facilities include a kitchen and restaurant, guest lodging, a large celebration space, organic vegetable and fruit gardens, and storage, training, and office space for lease to partner organizations and businesses. Inspired by traditional Rwandan meeting spaces, classrooms are shaped as circular pavilions and are at the center of the WOC. Behind the WOC, there is a large commercial demonstration farm in a fertile valley.
  WOC is an initiative funded and support by the Women for Women International group. Since its founding in 1993, Women for Women International (WFWI) has helped more than 407,000 women survivors of war and conflict around the world, and distributed more than $114 million in funds. Women for Women International works in eight countries and our yearlong training program enables women to learn vocational and business skills, rights awareness, and health education so they can unleash their full potential and bring dignity and opportunity to their families and communities.
  The WOC facility is made mainly of 450,000 bricks and these mud bricks where supplied by an all women COOP called KATWICO. Whilst the coop is no longer needed for their brick construction it was a remarkable achievement.
  Today at WOC we will visit and experience:
  Njagama Women’s Farm Tour
  Watch women tending the Njagama women’s organic farm adjacent to the Urugo Women’s Opportunity Center. The women can demonstrate sustainable farming techniques, which enable them to grow a broad range of crops, including cassava, cabbage, celery, bananas, tomatoes, carrots, green pepper, onion, lettuce, and spinach. Gain an appreciation for their talents and hard work, and then enjoy the bounty of their harvest in dishes served at the Urugo Restaurant!
  
  Food Production
  
  The “farm house” is our commercial kitchen, where local women make organic cheese, yoghurt and peanut butter. Learn how these products are made, taste samples and listen as the women share how their new skills are enabling them to earn income, support their families and send their children to school.
  
  WOMEN’S TWONGERE UMUSARURO PROJECT:
  
  This group of amazing women have flourished as a COOP supported by a number of key NGO’s such as the Bloomberg Foundation through Sustainable Harvest, who have partnered to help them improve coffee quality, practices, yields and more direct to market trade assisting in cutting out costly and unnecessary middle men. Here you will experience:
  
  Lunch will be at WOC from their local chefs and using the food we’ve seen grown from their farms. WOC also has one of the best and most affordable local arts and crafts shops in Rwanda. So if you are looking to support local artisans and pick up some souvenirs this is a good spot.
  
  After our WOC experience we will take a local lunch before heading off the nearby Women’s TwongereUmusaruro Project.
  
  The story and progress of the partnership and coop.
  How the Rwandan government is removing barriers to facilitate seamless trade for buyers
  
  How they engage local coffee growers
  Challenges and opportunities that coffee industry is having
  Women rise in coffee industry
  Strengthening women in coffee supply chain
  Cupping and workshops
  Climate dealing
  Understanding coffee segmentation
  Let’s talk home roasting. Traditional roasting on open fires.
  How to build your own lot cupping sessions
  Agriculture practices (filed preparation, how their make a compost, how they prepared seedling, how the take them to nursery, watering process, spraying, managing planning pit, planting, mulching, bending, pruning to harvest.)
  Harvesting process
  Harvesting periods
  Coffee washing station (measuring, washing, grading, pulping, washing, drying, white to green)
  Packaging
  Home roasting
  Cupping and testing

• Day 3 : Akagera National Park Including Boat Safari, Behind the Scenes Tour and Game Drive.

  After an early cooked breakfast at WOC we bid a fond farewell and make our way another hour down the road to Akagera National Park. After a quick registration at the parks offices we proceed immediately to Lake Ihema for a Boat Launch Safari at 9am. Here you will get an up-close look at the Hippos of Akagera, crocodiles and many of the 423 bird species found in the park.
  
  After the boat safari we head back to the park headquarters for a very interesting behind the scenes tour. Here you will meet some key members of the park management who will go through the history and development of the park including the recent re-introductions of lions and rhinos, show you the confiscated poaching equipment and then in to their secret tracking room. Here you will see the technology they have implemented to keep track of the movements and habits of the lions and rhinos.
  
  After the behind the scenes tour we will then take lunch before embarking on a Southern Circuit game drive. The southern circuit is usually a haven for Giraffes, Water Buffalo, Waterbuck, Zebras and Baboons.

• Day 4 : Millenium Village Tour and Traditional Farming Activities and Overnight Homestay in Bugesara

  After breakfast we leave at 8am for our Millennium Village Tour which begins with a very confronting and real experience of a Genocide Site, Nyamata Church Genocide Memorial.
  
  Again, this visit whilst challenging is an important visit so we never forget and repeat the mistakes of the past and have a very real perspective on recovering processes we are about to learn about.
  
  The region of Nyamata was heavily affected by the genocide and our next experiences are in the nearby Millenium Village where several projects have help heal, rebuild communities and provide hope. There is fantastic news for this region as it has just been announced Rwanda’s new International Airport will be built in this region.
  
  MILLIENIUM VILLAGE
  
  MILLIENIUM VILLAGE
  
  The Millennium Villages project (MVP), a partnership of UNDP, the Earth Institute at Columbia University, Millennium Promise, national and local governments and a variety of other partners, is a
  
  new bottom up approach to lift villages in the poorest countries of the world out of extreme poverty. Currently operating in ten countries in sub-Saharan Africa, it aims at establishing a foundation of evidence that rural
  
  Africa can be on the path towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDG’s) using science-based, proven and practical interventions over a five-year timeframe. The overall objective is to empower communities to lift themselves out of poverty. Their goals are:
  
  Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger.
  Achieve universal primary education.
  Promote gender equality and empower women.
  
  Reduce child mortality.
  Improve maternal health.
  Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis and other major diseases.
  Ensure environmental sustainability.
  Develop a global partnership for developments
  On this tour we will experience and visit:
  Agricultural intervention stations.
  Mayange 8 Primary School.
  Lunch, by a women’s cooperative in Mbyo.
  Mayange Health Centre.
  “Ubusabane”. Traditional get together with cultural interaction, food and drinks, and testimonies of community members.
  After the Millennium Village experience we transfer 2 hours to Muhabara district to enjoy your authentic Rwandan Village experiences of your choice courtesy of Azizi Life. Azizi Life partners with rural Rwandans to bring fair trade beauty to your life and theirs. Don’t worry about holding the fit, skilful and impressive locals back, they will pace the experience to suit you. It’s a lot of fun.
  
  A Day in the Life of an Artisan
  
  Become part of a weaving cooperative for the day.
  The Artisan Day is the very first Experience created by the artisans, and is the heart of Azizi Life Experiences.
  Join your artisan hostesses in their village for a morning of family chores, a simple, home-cooked lunch, and an afternoon of learning how to craft. With your translator alongside, you will love sharing life, work, conversation and laughter with the artisans and their families.
  
  Imigongo (cow dung art) Experience

• Day 5 : Cultural Corridor and Transfer to Nyungwe National Park

  After a wonderful breakfast with families and a bush bath you will give farewells and then transfer to Nyungwe Forest National Park. En route you will visit Butare town with the famous King’s Palace in Nyanza, and the National Ethnographic Museum of Rwanda which will provide you with a deeper insight into Rwandan history and culture. We have a wonderful traditional dancing troupe experience lined up which is sure to impress.
  
  Lunch will be at Butare before we head off on the 2-hour transfer to your accommodation at Emeraude Kivu Resort on the shores of Lake Kivu just beyond Nyungwe Forest National Park.
  
  Upon arrival, you will check in at your lodge on the shores overlooking the lake and enjoy an excellent Dinner and Coffee with the mountains of the Democratic Republic of Congo on the other side.
  
  A great place for dinner and to unwind before your early Traditional Fisherman’s Experience in the morning.

• Day 6 : Traditional Fisherman’s Experience. Colobus Monkey Trek and Canopy Walk.

  At the crack of dawn, we take a 2 minute walk from the lodge down to the local traditional fisherman. Every morning the fisherman launch their traditional boats and throw their nets for their day’s trade. They heard the fish like cattle and sing during the morning. It’s a wonderful natural and peaceful way to start the day.
  
  We will return to Emeraude Kivu Resort for breakfast and then transfer 1 hour to the starting point of our Colubus Monkey trek in Nyungwe Forest National Park. Nyungwe is considered one of the most important forests in Africa and is its largest temperate rainforest and home to over 1000 species. Colobus monkeys
  
  abound here and it shouldn’t take too long to locate and watch these unique black and white monkeys and their community.
  
  After the Colobus Monkey trekwe take a 30 minute trek to the start of the Nyungwe Forest Canopy Walk. Ascend to the start of the canopy walk where you will take in a whole new and breathtaking perspective of the ancient forest canopy and it bird life.

• Day 7 : Chimpanzee Trek and Transfer to Kibuye, Lake Kivu

  This morning we leave with a coffee and packed lunch at 6am in order to arrive at the Cyangugu Park Headquarters for the Chimpanzee Trek briefing. Take some bottles of water with you front the 4WD as the trek can go for 2-6 hours.
  
  In the forest, you will not only see our closest animal relative the chimpanzees in their natural habitat but keep your eye open for a variety of animals and birds like the Rwenzori Turraco, black and white casqued horn bill, colobus monkeys – sometimes as many as 400 in a group. Later transfer to Kibuye, Lake Kivu.

• Day 8 : Kibuye to Volcanoes National Park Via a Batwa Dancing Pots Experience After Breakfast We Take a 2 H

  After breakfast we take a 2 hour scenic drive along Lake Kivu to the border town of Gisenyi at the northern point of the great lake. Here we will be welcomed by the local Batwa population and their Dancing Pots experience which offers the visitor a unique opportunity to learn about and interact with this settled and forward-looking community.
  
  The excursion starts with an introductory presentation that explains the historical and cultural background, and prepares the visitor for the interaction with the community. After the short drive to Kanama, you are welcomed by vibrantly drumming and dancing men, excitingly waving and smiling children as well as beautifully clothed singing young ladies. They are keen and excited to portray their passionately performed artistic skills that made them famous. Dancing, singing and making pottery as part of their traditional lives still rate high in the Abatigayubuke community, so that the pride they feel during their performances is visible, experiential and infectious from the very first moment upon arrival in the village.
  
  After this warm welcome, you proceed to sitting facilities in the main kiln house where a presentation of the community’s unique pottery skills follows. Pottery belongs to the community’s daily activities. They are lucky to have found a secure clay source some 2km away from the village, enabling them to produce a range of products, including traditional stoves, flower vases and small decorative animals.
  
  As part of the visit, some of the cooperative members will demonstrate their pottery skills while others continue to provide a musical and artistic accompaniment. The demonstration features the mixing of clay and water, the actual forming of the products and the burning of pottery in the traditional kiln. An opportunity to purchase some of the products as souvenirs is also available.
  
  At the end of the stay, your host and interested locals of neighboring communities engage in a traditional get-together party called ‘ubusabane’. This is a very important part of the excursion because it offers unique opportunities for interaction and cross-cultural exchange. Over lemonade and corn on the cob, guests and hosts come closer to each other, communicate and frequently dance together.
  
  In the afternoon we will take a final 2 hour transfer to Musanze at the base of the magnificent Volcanoes National Park and arrive at.

• Day 9 : Gorilla Doctors and Sisal Basking Weaving Experiences

  After breakfast at the foothills of the Volcanoes we take you on a super interesting educational behind the scenes experience at the Gorilla Doctors. This organization works closely with the Karisoke Dian Fossey
  
  Mountain Gorilla Fund to administer and treatment to injured or sick Mountain Gorillas. Their knowledge of their anatomy, genetics, language and habits is at expert level and will give you amazing insights in to our ancient ancestors.
  
  Return to your lodge for lunch and then in the afternoon we have a group of local women artisans coming to the lodge grounds to show you the highly sought-after Sisal Basket Weaving skills.
  
  In the late afternoon the lodge has a group of local traditional dancers enthusiastically entertain you and you can join in if the mood catches you.

• Day 10 : Optional Activities and Rejuvenation Session

  Today you have a choice of the following ½ day activities starting after an early breakfast or relax.
  
  Mountain Gorilla Trek: $1500
  
  Guided Cycling with Team Rwanda (National Cycling Team): $150
  
  Golden Monkey Trek: $100
  
  Dian Fossey Grave site Trek: $75
  
  Musanze Caves: $55
  
  Twin Lakes Sightseeing and Boat Tour: $40
  
  Mukungwa River Canoe Trip: $40
  
  We leave early at 7:00am to reach the park headquarters for a briefing of your chosen trek.
  
  MOUNTAIN GORILLA TREK OPTION:

• Day 11 : Kigali to Akagera National Park

  On our last morning together, after breakfast, we will visit the nearby Faith Foundation and donate any stationary you were able to bring with you in your luggage.
  
  Faith Uwantege’s inspiration bears its roots from the streets of Kinigi where she worked in one of the areas hotels. She constantly saw vulnerable children at risk everywhere she walked with no hope for tomorrow. She then made a decision of saving her own salary to see her dream come true, because she has always wanted to do something to help the children at risk not only in Rwanda but all over the world and hence the birth of the Faith Foundation.
  
  Faith Foundation was started to help vulnerable children but also to be the voice all over the world. The women and children we serve come from disadvantaged backgrounds and families. Some of them are single parents or widows; others are married but too poor to cope with their family or social obligations. The foundation exists to help restore hope, empower dreams and educate to build skills for a brighter life and future.
  
  “We believe that poverty in childhood is a root cause of poverty in adulthood” says the Founder. Faith Foundation is breaking this poverty cycle, by helping the absolute poorest of the poor; we can make the greatest impact on society. The Foundation has pioneered an initiative that has seen children being sponsored to pursue education, empowering themselves and creating their own future, and increasing capacities of widows to actively generate income to support themselves and their children and actively participate in community development.
  
  After the visit to Faith Foundation we make the 2-hour scenic drive back to Kigali. There’s great scenic photography opportunities on the way and you will discover why Rwanda is known as the Land of a Thousand Hills.
  
  After lunch we have a local Art and Fashion tour lined up. Your chance to possibly pick up some of the colorful local fabrics. FABULOUS!!!
  
  Art and Fashion Tour of Kigali