From 2014, The Government of Rwanda initiated the Policy of community involvement in Tourism activities. Through this policy, citizens are also encouraged to initiate and establish different tourism enterprises and cooperatives for the purpose of income generation, eco-tourism and cultural heritage preservation. It is in this context that Iby’Iwacu Cultural Village was created.
Iby’Iwacu Cultural Village, literally meaning “Our Home Stuff” Cultural Village was started as a project to help local population especially formers poachers to benefit from tourism and to generate revenues from tourists who visit the Volcanoes National Park. Poachers were local people who before did hunting activities in Volcanoes National Parks, but later decided to stop hunting for the purpose of wildlife conservation, and are now the protectors of wildlife. Iby’Iwacu Cultural Village provides Rwandan cultural experiences to the visitors of Volcanoes National park. The exhibitions and cultural tourisms activities displayed in this Village show traditional Rwanda’s homes, traditional weapons, traditional medicines, traditional dance performances, and traditional music instruments.
Iby’Iwacu CulturalVillage is located in Northern Province, Musanze District, Kinigi Sector, Nyabigoma sector.
Activities done at Iby’Iwacu Cultural Village
Iby’Iwacu Cultural Village hosts tourists who visit it as an additional tourist attraction after or before visiting the Gorillas and chimpanzees in the Volcano National Park. The village offers the tourists the chance to explore traditional Rwandans rural lifestyle; meeting local people and experiencing their living conditions and enabling them to experience their culture, customs and traditions.
Some of the famous activities done by the tourists who visit Iby’Iwacu Cultural village include but not limited to the listed below:
a) Touring the King’s palace and traditional Housing styles
At Iby’Iwacu Cultural Village, there is a replica of the traditional Rwanda kings house. This is one of the most visited part of the village as it displays how Rwandan kings lived and the different parts and rooms of the Rwandan kings’ houses. Apart from the king’s house, there are also different traditional houses that shows how traditional Rwandan citizens prepared they homes and how they lived in their village and community.
Through the visiting Rwanda’s traditional housings, tourist explore all the parts of a traditional housing and get a deep understanding of how traditional Rwandans lived. This experience allows tourists to draw clear understanding about Rwandan culture and history, as one of the tourist commented on the Trip Advisor Platform: “The very best experience – a true privilege to be welcomed by such beautiful people. An incredible insight into Rwandan history” (Trip Advisor: 2024).
b) Tourists living in local hosting families
One of the most famous activity in Iby’Iwacu Center is linking local families with tourists where tourists spend their time in the hosting local family enabling them to live local rural areas and experience the lifestyle of local Rwandans peasants in rural areas. In this experience, tourists live the same life as the host families for a certain period. During this period, tourists visit local communities; they visit local tourism attractions and participate in local cultural activities, especially music and dances.
Tourist who live in hosting families also engage actively in the day to day activities of the local population like agriculture, making traditional wines, cooking, millet and sorghum grinding by using stones known as urusyo (traditional grinding machines), and much more. This allows the tourists to get firsthand experiences and practices about local life living conditions, enabling them to understand the host population culture and history.
C) Visiting local Community
Another cultural experience sharing activity done by Iby’Iwacu Cultural Village is the tour visit among the local people and local communities. This is the community of local people who were before living in the villages all around the Volcanoes National Park. These communities have started different income generating activities. When tourist visit the Iby’Iwacu Cultural village, they visit these local Community, they practice their activities and they experience their living lifestyles.
Members of this local community participates in different cultural activities done at Iby’Iwacu Cultural Village like dancing for the tourists, teaching them to dance and playing with them some traditional games and sports.
d) Experiencing Rwanda’s dances and dance styles
The village also offers a chance to experience and practice different Rwanda’s traditional dance styles and music genres. At Iby’Iwacu Cultural Village, tourists are given the opportunity to learn and to practice traditional Rwanda’s music and dance styles. Tourists of all categories get the chances of learning “Intore dance” which was traditional a dance for men warriors and different drumming styles.
At the village, tourists also get an opportunity to see and explore different traditional music instruments that are kept at Iby’Iwacy Cultural Village.
Through this experience, tourists explore Rwanda’s traditional dances and how to play some music instruments, as one of the tourists commented on the Trip Advisor Platform: “This was the best cultural experience. We got to participate in the drumming, firing the bow and arrow and plus the traditional dances. It was amazing and educating!” (Trip Advisor, 2024).
e) Experiencing traditional Rwandan sports and games
Another important experience faced by the tourist at Iby’Iwacu Cultural Village is the way tourists play local sports and games with local people. Tourists who visit the Village have the chances of practicing “Kumasha”, which is the game of archly by using traditional spears and arrows. This game involves aiming and hitting the target.
Through participation in different traditional sports and gaming activities of the Rwandans, tourists get deeper experience of Rwanda’s culture and history. They also get the chance to interact with local people and exchange their cultural values.
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