Andy has updated on the outcome of the matches whilst I've been gone.
The team won the first two matches played while we were away;
EA vs National Police Academy (2-0)
EA vs 63rd Battalion (1-0)
In the semi-finals the team went through to the finals after a win on penalties (3-2) when the match ended in a 1-1 draw.
These results have apparently left the Musanze district quite surprised so there should be a large turnout for the matches.
On Andy and my trip to Uganda we stayed a couple of nights in Kampala and then moved on to the NRE camp at Bujagali Falls in Jinja. This turned out into a bit more than a visit for me with me talking myslf into a tandem-kayak trip down the Nile. There was nothing to worry about though and the trip was fantastic with me ending up hooked on kayaking now.
Although I'm London now for the wedding and the World Travel Market, I'll keep the blog updated with feedback from Andy.
Saturday, October 21, 2006
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Elegant Africa FC: win by default
This afternoon was the first match for our football team and I was ready with the video camera to record the event. We also had about 15-20 of the guys from the site there to support the team, armed with whistles and a variety of noise making things.
Although everyone was absolutely geared for a big match, it never happened. The opponents didn't turn up and the organisers declared a win by default 3-0 to Elegant Africa FC. Immediately the guys from the site came up for some reasons why the team should be so lucky, one of them being that my witchcraft involved in catching the snake yesterday kept the other team away.
Anyway, Andy and I are leaving for Uganda tomorrow to check out some things for the construction and also show him some establishments for tourists outside Rwanda including an overland campsite and safari tent camp. The football team have vowed to Andy that although he won't be there for the matches on Saturday and Sunday, when he gets back the team will have at least reached the semi-finals.
Although everyone was absolutely geared for a big match, it never happened. The opponents didn't turn up and the organisers declared a win by default 3-0 to Elegant Africa FC. Immediately the guys from the site came up for some reasons why the team should be so lucky, one of them being that my witchcraft involved in catching the snake yesterday kept the other team away.
Anyway, Andy and I are leaving for Uganda tomorrow to check out some things for the construction and also show him some establishments for tourists outside Rwanda including an overland campsite and safari tent camp. The football team have vowed to Andy that although he won't be there for the matches on Saturday and Sunday, when he gets back the team will have at least reached the semi-finals.
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Progress & a Snake
Today I was unfortunately stuck in my office for the morning and also running around with banking etc but I managed to get out to the site about half 12. I did a quick tour through the site before the normal afternoon rain (this time of the year) which usually starts around 1:30-2pm.
The rock shaping is progressing well with rocks also being shaped for the Reception/Drop-off steps from the parking area. The latter rocks are shaped just so the top is flat and the front of each step will be reasonably flush - well, that's the idea anyway but I see the guys are shaping most of the sides. That's not bad though as these are all different size rocks so the irregular sized rocks will look good once they're laid down.
The pathway to the safari tents is progressing well albeit slowly and looking pretty good actually. Progress is slower here as the the rocks are being shaped as they're being laid and the rock is from the site - not the easiest "shapeable" rock.
At the 4x4 campsites side, the guys have cut through a ridge for the 4x4 road that will be going around that area and levelled a fair amount of the road either side of the ridge. Although not compacted yet its quite exciting to see one of the roads take shape already. This will probably be one of the first roads to be done on the site as there's no major levelling to do and being for 4x4's, won't be a "paved" road although the rock for this road will be fairly level and well compacted.
On one of the northern overland sites, the guys have started removing very large rock in order to start the levelling of the parking spot - a massive job in this case. The parking spot has to be dug out from the front with retaining walls being built around the sides in keeping with similar retaining walls on the site already.
Now getting back to the parking area, Andy and I got some guys to move rock onto an area with exposed soil so the rain doesn't wash the soil away. Whilst this was going on, there was a flurry of activity and shouts and luckily Andy and I were there - the guys were grabbing anything at hand to try and kill the little 30cm snake that came out. Aha I thought, my opportunity to catch my first Rwandan snake. Successful and holding it, I looked up to see everyone staring at me with very very big eyes. I spent about 10 minutes examining it - nobody could work the video camera and obviously nobody would volunteer to hold the snake while I took photos - so I had to have a good look before releasing it and then try and identify it from the field guide at home.
Even after I had released the snake, everyone continued staring at me and/or watching me out of the corner of their eye whilst working. Andy said that after I had left the site the guys were speculating about how much witchcraft I had that was able to pick up a snake and not get bitten. I'm sure this is not the last I've heard about this as the story spreads around Musanze and obviously, as these stories do, the length and size of the snake increases.
I wasn't able to make a confident ID from the field guide when I got home but it seems it was either one of the forest green-snakes or an olive snake. I'll definitely devise a way to get photos next time. Great afternoon though
The rock shaping is progressing well with rocks also being shaped for the Reception/Drop-off steps from the parking area. The latter rocks are shaped just so the top is flat and the front of each step will be reasonably flush - well, that's the idea anyway but I see the guys are shaping most of the sides. That's not bad though as these are all different size rocks so the irregular sized rocks will look good once they're laid down.
The pathway to the safari tents is progressing well albeit slowly and looking pretty good actually. Progress is slower here as the the rocks are being shaped as they're being laid and the rock is from the site - not the easiest "shapeable" rock.
At the 4x4 campsites side, the guys have cut through a ridge for the 4x4 road that will be going around that area and levelled a fair amount of the road either side of the ridge. Although not compacted yet its quite exciting to see one of the roads take shape already. This will probably be one of the first roads to be done on the site as there's no major levelling to do and being for 4x4's, won't be a "paved" road although the rock for this road will be fairly level and well compacted.
On one of the northern overland sites, the guys have started removing very large rock in order to start the levelling of the parking spot - a massive job in this case. The parking spot has to be dug out from the front with retaining walls being built around the sides in keeping with similar retaining walls on the site already.
Now getting back to the parking area, Andy and I got some guys to move rock onto an area with exposed soil so the rain doesn't wash the soil away. Whilst this was going on, there was a flurry of activity and shouts and luckily Andy and I were there - the guys were grabbing anything at hand to try and kill the little 30cm snake that came out. Aha I thought, my opportunity to catch my first Rwandan snake. Successful and holding it, I looked up to see everyone staring at me with very very big eyes. I spent about 10 minutes examining it - nobody could work the video camera and obviously nobody would volunteer to hold the snake while I took photos - so I had to have a good look before releasing it and then try and identify it from the field guide at home.
Even after I had released the snake, everyone continued staring at me and/or watching me out of the corner of their eye whilst working. Andy said that after I had left the site the guys were speculating about how much witchcraft I had that was able to pick up a snake and not get bitten. I'm sure this is not the last I've heard about this as the story spreads around Musanze and obviously, as these stories do, the length and size of the snake increases.
I wasn't able to make a confident ID from the field guide when I got home but it seems it was either one of the forest green-snakes or an olive snake. I'll definitely devise a way to get photos next time. Great afternoon though
Monday, October 09, 2006
Elegant Africa football team
I forgot to mention last week that we had just given our name to a local football team. Andy told me this when he cam eback from the stadium where all the players from the district had gone for a drawing of teams for a regional tournemant. The tournemant is organised by the Muslim commmunity for Ramadan and comprises teams compiled only for this tournemant. Andy was approached by a team which comprises most of the young players from Musanze and asked to join but mentioned that they didn't have a name for their team yet - he opted for Elegant Africa. Needless to say, they were quite chuffed with that.
The biggest competition apparently will be from the military battalion teams and the Police Academy but they are quite confident that the Elegant Africa team have a very good chance of taking the trophy. The coach is a big supporter of our project here in Musanze and also a keen player in the Musanze veterans' team. The first match our team will play is on Wednesday after Gacaca at 1pm. If possible, we'll get the big Elegant Africa Ikoro Tented Camp sign out to the pitch for the match.
Yesterday was English lessons again with around 16 people attending and all progressing fantastically. A lot of the motivation also seems to come from their opinion that my Kinyarwanda is progressing faster than their English. We also had a good discussion around development and training in Rwanda and Africa in general - things they speculate about what's happening in the rest of Africa. It was good for me too to understand more about their perceptions on what their capabilities are and why they think the reason I'm learning Kinyarwanda quickly is because of my skin colour i.e. white people are more intelligent. I immediately explained that skin colour had nothing to do with skills and/or ability and the reason I was learning Kinyarwanda quicker than them learning English was because I was "forced" to speak the language - not many English speaking people around.
With a bit of discussion they became convinced that nobody is untrainable and the fact that they had not gone to a European school does not lessen their mental abilities. Very interesting discussion though and a very important point to be kept in mind when training people.
Most of my day today was spent in the office preparing drawings etc for the safari tents and planning for my departure on Thursday morning to Kampala and Nairobi.
The biggest competition apparently will be from the military battalion teams and the Police Academy but they are quite confident that the Elegant Africa team have a very good chance of taking the trophy. The coach is a big supporter of our project here in Musanze and also a keen player in the Musanze veterans' team. The first match our team will play is on Wednesday after Gacaca at 1pm. If possible, we'll get the big Elegant Africa Ikoro Tented Camp sign out to the pitch for the match.
Yesterday was English lessons again with around 16 people attending and all progressing fantastically. A lot of the motivation also seems to come from their opinion that my Kinyarwanda is progressing faster than their English. We also had a good discussion around development and training in Rwanda and Africa in general - things they speculate about what's happening in the rest of Africa. It was good for me too to understand more about their perceptions on what their capabilities are and why they think the reason I'm learning Kinyarwanda quickly is because of my skin colour i.e. white people are more intelligent. I immediately explained that skin colour had nothing to do with skills and/or ability and the reason I was learning Kinyarwanda quicker than them learning English was because I was "forced" to speak the language - not many English speaking people around.
With a bit of discussion they became convinced that nobody is untrainable and the fact that they had not gone to a European school does not lessen their mental abilities. Very interesting discussion though and a very important point to be kept in mind when training people.
Most of my day today was spent in the office preparing drawings etc for the safari tents and planning for my departure on Thursday morning to Kampala and Nairobi.
Saturday, October 07, 2006
Some Pics from Ikoro
Cutting the road to the campsites
The reception and office area is located just to the right of where these guys are working. This particular spot will be the road to and from the campsites. Continueing straight ahead will take you to the overland sites and taking the right fork (not visible here) will lead to the 4x4 sites.
Shaping of volcanic rock
This is volcanic rock delivered to the site and will be used for the building of the stone bathroom for the safari tent. Some of the stone shaped already can be seen next to the guys. This is done by the masons who will also be doing the actual building. It appears that the shaping of stone is an inherent part of the mason's skill set and also something they will learn before they learn the actual building part.
Breaking rock (notice big iron "stake" used to hammer into cracks)
The rock that's broken will be used for foundations, roads and some will be shaped for laying the pathways through the site. This morning I spent some time with the guys at the pathway to the safari tent shaping stone as well - not as easy as it sounds.
Guys stripping the bark from the trees we have cut down already
.
This allows the wood to dry before we use it in and around the site. The wood will also be used in the interiors for some fittings etc. The larger pile in the front is all the smaller trees with the larger (and huge) trees packed in the pile where the guys are standing. In the background can a couple of piles of tree stumps that have been removed can be seen as well.
The reception and office area is located just to the right of where these guys are working. This particular spot will be the road to and from the campsites. Continueing straight ahead will take you to the overland sites and taking the right fork (not visible here) will lead to the 4x4 sites.Shaping of volcanic rock
This is volcanic rock delivered to the site and will be used for the building of the stone bathroom for the safari tent. Some of the stone shaped already can be seen next to the guys. This is done by the masons who will also be doing the actual building. It appears that the shaping of stone is an inherent part of the mason's skill set and also something they will learn before they learn the actual building part.
Breaking rock (notice big iron "stake" used to hammer into cracks)
The rock that's broken will be used for foundations, roads and some will be shaped for laying the pathways through the site. This morning I spent some time with the guys at the pathway to the safari tent shaping stone as well - not as easy as it sounds.
Guys stripping the bark from the trees we have cut down already
.This allows the wood to dry before we use it in and around the site. The wood will also be used in the interiors for some fittings etc. The larger pile in the front is all the smaller trees with the larger (and huge) trees packed in the pile where the guys are standing. In the background can a couple of piles of tree stumps that have been removed can be seen as well.
Thursday, October 05, 2006
Regional Tourism & Local Sourcing
On Wednesday I attended a Regional Tourism Workshop in Kigali hosted by SNV (a Dutch capacity building organisation - www.snvworld.org ) and ORTPN (Rwanda Office for Tourism & National Parks). This was attended by representatives from the World Tourism Organisation, tourism authorities from Southern &Eastern Africa including people from Ethiopia and Cameroon. The theme for the day was how tourism can be applied to benefit local communities by following Pro-Poor ( www.propoortourism.org.uk/ ) guidelines. This was a very informative and well overdue workshop for the industry in this region and it was also good to see further confirmation that many of our plans for the future of Ikoro fall within these guidelines.
Yesterday started with a meeting with a consultant appointed by ORTPN to prepare proposals on Community Based Tourism. Andy and Emmanuel (site engineer) then also met me in Kigali where we set off into the city to see what more specialised building materials were available. This is preparation for us also comparing prices with certain items from Uganda.
Yesterday started with a meeting with a consultant appointed by ORTPN to prepare proposals on Community Based Tourism. Andy and Emmanuel (site engineer) then also met me in Kigali where we set off into the city to see what more specialised building materials were available. This is preparation for us also comparing prices with certain items from Uganda.
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Starting new things
Pathway to safari tent, compacted & ready for shaped stone
Today was a partially a move in a new direction with tasks on the site. Near where the prototype safari tent will be erected, the guys have started preparing for the stone pathway which will lead to this tent but will also link up to pathways linking all these tents to general front of house area. This being done by removing about 15-20cm of soil (1m wide) and winding through the existing trees where the basically shaped volcanic rock will packed.
Also at the reception lobby area, we started preparing to build the stone steps leading up from the drop-off/parking area to the lobby. This will also be built with shaped volcanic rock. For the shaping of the rock we have asked some of the masons who are already working as normal labour to get their "shaping" hammers and start on the shaping job. All the shaping is done manually and in the traditional way that is inherent to this area.
Our first big supplies deliveries also happened today; two 10ton trucks delivered volcanic rock that will be shaped for the building of the bathroom at the safari tent (ultimately also for the front of house buildings). The reason for bringing in "other" volcanic rock is that the rock we have on site can be shaped but with great difficulty as its less porous and will break off in chunks which doesn't really help when the mason just wants to do a few little taps with the hammer to finish the shape he wants. The rock on the site is fine for the roads, pathways and foundations though so we will still be using the resources we have on site.
A group of guys has also started digging out the road that leads from the reception area to the campsites. This consists of some areas of large solid rock which has to be broken and removed.
Today was a partially a move in a new direction with tasks on the site. Near where the prototype safari tent will be erected, the guys have started preparing for the stone pathway which will lead to this tent but will also link up to pathways linking all these tents to general front of house area. This being done by removing about 15-20cm of soil (1m wide) and winding through the existing trees where the basically shaped volcanic rock will packed.
Also at the reception lobby area, we started preparing to build the stone steps leading up from the drop-off/parking area to the lobby. This will also be built with shaped volcanic rock. For the shaping of the rock we have asked some of the masons who are already working as normal labour to get their "shaping" hammers and start on the shaping job. All the shaping is done manually and in the traditional way that is inherent to this area.
Our first big supplies deliveries also happened today; two 10ton trucks delivered volcanic rock that will be shaped for the building of the bathroom at the safari tent (ultimately also for the front of house buildings). The reason for bringing in "other" volcanic rock is that the rock we have on site can be shaped but with great difficulty as its less porous and will break off in chunks which doesn't really help when the mason just wants to do a few little taps with the hammer to finish the shape he wants. The rock on the site is fine for the roads, pathways and foundations though so we will still be using the resources we have on site.
A group of guys has also started digging out the road that leads from the reception area to the campsites. This consists of some areas of large solid rock which has to be broken and removed.
Monday, October 02, 2006
Busy Monday
Its all go again with an early start at the site (06:15) and getting everyone's tasks sorted out for the day. This took a bit longer than usual as most had finished the sections they had been working on so we refined the perimeters of clearing in some places and marked out the outstanding sections.
Quite a few guys started moving the massive tree stumps from the main building areas and some started to break the large rocks into smaller rocks for use in roads, pathways etc. Generally a very busy day at the site and everyone slugging it out - especially the "rock breakers".
We also spoke to the guys who would be supplying the volcanic rock that has to be shaped for building - this has to start now as we need to do the bathroom for prototype safari tent. They'll come and see us for an order early tomorrow morning.
Getting back this afternoon, I got stuck into the usual end-of-month admin which I'll probably continue tomorrow during the day with a short time only at the site. This all has to be finished tomorrow as there's a Regional Tourism Workshop in Kigali on Wednesday about Community Based Tourism and Pro-Poor policies etc.
Quite a few guys started moving the massive tree stumps from the main building areas and some started to break the large rocks into smaller rocks for use in roads, pathways etc. Generally a very busy day at the site and everyone slugging it out - especially the "rock breakers".
We also spoke to the guys who would be supplying the volcanic rock that has to be shaped for building - this has to start now as we need to do the bathroom for prototype safari tent. They'll come and see us for an order early tomorrow morning.
Getting back this afternoon, I got stuck into the usual end-of-month admin which I'll probably continue tomorrow during the day with a short time only at the site. This all has to be finished tomorrow as there's a Regional Tourism Workshop in Kigali on Wednesday about Community Based Tourism and Pro-Poor policies etc.
Sunday, October 01, 2006
The Ikoro Leopard!!
Yesterday late afternoon I went with Andy to change the security guards at the site and chat to the night guards and hear if there was any news and/or incidents. What they did tell me (in hushed voices) was that they had seen the leopard again 2-3 days ago. (People here have huge respect for leopards as they believe they are the spirits of their ancestors) Obviously I asked what they meant with "again" - never mind the fact that they saw a leopard got my attention immediately. I also quizzed them on all the aspects of their sightings as I didn't want to get all excited about a leopard and it was actually something else.
Apparently they have seen the leopard at the site about 4 times already. Usually walking from the northern side of the site and sometimes continues south over the main road. The one time they saw it was when they had done their rounds and got back to the fire (well almost anyway) when they saw the leopard lying down next to the fire and just watching them. Needless to say, they had to be grin and bear the cold for another couple of hours until the leopard left.
Then, last night around 10pm I arrived at the site with my tent and decided to pitch it around the middle of the site somewhere. Over and above the fact that I've always said I want to be the first to camp there, I now had another reason to hang around at night - a possible leopard sighting! Unfortunately it was a bit rainy all night so no sign of the leopard but definitely a grand experience waking up in the bush again with only the birds singing and the general nature waking up sounds. Forgotten how much I miss it - definitely not the last time.
This afternoon was also English lesson time again and there was a lot of big smiles and hearty greeting when the guys saw I was back. It does make one feel good when you realise the guys actually enjoy being part of the team.
Apparently they have seen the leopard at the site about 4 times already. Usually walking from the northern side of the site and sometimes continues south over the main road. The one time they saw it was when they had done their rounds and got back to the fire (well almost anyway) when they saw the leopard lying down next to the fire and just watching them. Needless to say, they had to be grin and bear the cold for another couple of hours until the leopard left.
Then, last night around 10pm I arrived at the site with my tent and decided to pitch it around the middle of the site somewhere. Over and above the fact that I've always said I want to be the first to camp there, I now had another reason to hang around at night - a possible leopard sighting! Unfortunately it was a bit rainy all night so no sign of the leopard but definitely a grand experience waking up in the bush again with only the birds singing and the general nature waking up sounds. Forgotten how much I miss it - definitely not the last time.
This afternoon was also English lesson time again and there was a lot of big smiles and hearty greeting when the guys saw I was back. It does make one feel good when you realise the guys actually enjoy being part of the team.
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