Sustainable Tourism & Projects in Uganda

Background on sustainable tourism

What is sustainable tourism?
Sustainable Tourism is a form of tourism that promotes integration with local communities and helps to finance local projects in full respect of local traditions, way of living and conservation of resources and environment. In a project of sustainable tourism locals are helped without modifying their way of conducting their day to day life. Basic examples of sustainable tourism are:
accommodation or dinner with local families,
visit to local communities to learn their way of working,
time spent with local fishermen or cattle keepers,
visits to schools where the children will teach some basic words in their local language,
any conservation project that respect the local communities

Common to all sustainable tourism activities is the fact that local communities are consistently supported to develop a project that will benefit all the community. In this way, the communities will benefit from the tourist and the tourist will learn from them. Sustainable tourism does not have to exclude classic safaris: game drive and visit to national parks can be perfectly integrated in a sustainable tourism itinerary.
Wrong examples of sustainable tourism are all situations in which local communities have to modify their daily life to accommodate needs of tourists, eco-tours in which local communities do not benefit from the visit of the tourist, conservation projects that do not take into account the needs of the locals.

Ecotourism and Sustainable Tourism

Ecotourism is becoming a popular term to describe any tour that offers some sort of contact with nature and local realities. However, ecotourism does not have to keep into account a rigid etiquette on ethics, development and support. Essentially, ecotourism and sustainable tourism are the same concept only when nature, conservation, needs of the tourists and needs of the locals, respect of local culture and traditions are all correctly balanced in a way that every part involved will benefit in equal terms.

Requirements for a Sustainable Tourism Activities

Requirements change greatly from case to case. Anyway, this is a list of common elements that should always be present to qualify an activity as sustainable tourism:
Local communities will need to set a community project in which all the money coming from the sustainable tourism activity will be invested:
The entire community will benefit from the project
It will have a long term benefit for the community
it is a moral and ethical project and does not have links to politics or religion
The sustainable tourism activity does not have to interfere with the local communities in their way of living, conducting business and provide for their own incomes.
Local communities will have to use the money coming from the sustainable tourism activity as an extra income to their normal activities to realise a project that otherwise they could not achieve
The tourism must be clearly informed on the sustainable tourism activity and must show an interest and sensitivity towards the activity proposed and the way he/she will contribute towards the development of the local community.

Sustainable Tourism Activities in Uganda (we are currently developping also activities in Kenya and Tanzania).
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1. Activities in Fort Portal
I.Short/Full Cultural Walk with dinner or lunch in Local Family
II.Full day spent with locals
III.Accommodation with local family

2. Activities in Kasese
I.From 1 to 7 days spend choosing from a list of activities including time spent with a local artisan, local school, shop, hospital. This is not just volunteer work, because it will be a real exchange between the locals and the tourism where the locals as well as the tourist will benefit from the experience.
II.Food and Accommodation with a local family

3. Activities in Kampala
I.Visit to an hospital and interaction with nurses and patients to understand how the health service works in Uganda
II.Visit to a church and interaction with the pastors at the end to understand about African believe system and religion in Africa
III.Visit to an NGO and activities with them
IV.Visit to an orphanage/school and interaction with the children
V.Lessons of African drum, African singing and dancing

4. Activities in Lake Mburo
I.Scientific expedition searching for leopards
II.Half day spent with local cattle keepers
III.Full day with locals to learn about one of their activities or to help them in their day to day life
IV.Accommodation with local family

5. Activities in Ssese Island
I.Half or Full day spent with the fishermen, to go fishing with them and to learn about the way they prepare the fish for local use and export
II.Dinner and accommodation with local family

6. Activities in Kisoro
I.Visit to the local communities of the Batwa Pygmies and interaction with them to understand about their culture, traditions and daily life
II.Half day spent with the NGO that supports the forest people to understand about their programs and activities

7. Activities in Kabale
I.Visit to the 3rd largest anti-malaria field to understand how the remedy is produced and what malaria is from a medical and social point of view
II.Interaction with local dancers and drummers

8. Activities in Pian Upe
I.Interaction with the Karamoja people to learn about their traditions and culture
II.Accommodation with local family

9. Activities in Mabira Forest
I.Interaction with the researchers involved in conservation projects
II.Interaction with local communities for dance and drumming

10. Activities in Jinja
I.Half day walk within the local communities surrounding Bujagali falls
II.two days rafting with interaction with local communities
III.Accommodation and food provided by local family