Seasons' Greetings from all and the Girls

Today I went out to the site with the Girls who are already starting to show signs of boundless energy waiting to be released. As the last day of work for the year, we called everyone together at lunchtime and I gave them best wishes from Sarah (in her absence) and me and of course from the Girls who sitting there watching everything with big eyes. The surprise for everyone was when I pulled out a pile of Elegant Africa compliment cards with each persons name printed on one with seasons' greetings to them and their families in, from Sarah, me and Andy, in Kinyarwanda. A personal touch they just couldn't believe which disbelief increased when I added 1,000francs (about £1) to each person's card. The guys just couldn't believe that we had done the cards, especially in Kinyarwanda and still a gift as well.

So from this little best wishes "ceremony" everyone was paid their wages and set off home for a festive season and having a well-earned rest before resuming on 8 January. In the next couple of weeks I'll add some photos and news of the girls as they grow and most likely sneak their way into everyone's hearts.

A Serval, a genet and the Ikoro Girls

Serval track photographed in the NW of the site

This photo was one of a few I took in the north-west of the site. After checking the measurements and following as many of the tracks as we could and deferring to the field guides on tracks, we've concluded that these are serval tracks. On showing the pic of a serval to some of the lads at the site, they immediately identified it as the animal they've been seeing on the site. The other tracks in the north we also confirmed as genet tracks. Unfortunately one generally can't tell different genet species from each other just from their tracks so we have to try and get photos to know what genet(s) we have there.

This of course brings up the subject of the leopard's presence on the site. Now while I have not photographed the other tracks yet that have been seen on the site (which the guys maintain are much larger than theses serval tracks) it takes mentioning that pretty much any animals with spots that looks cat-like is called "Ingwe" - Kinyarwanda for leopard. So on whether there's a leopard on the site, methinks the jury's still out on that one.

Now this morning when Andy and I got to the north western border to check for any new tracks, I was greeted by a little whimper and the small "growls" of 4 small puppies. They cautiously approached me from the hessian bag they'd obviously been lying on just inside our hedge. I think my jaw just dropped for a second or two before I called Andy over to get some guys to help me get them to the car. Just 2 days earlier I had been chatting to the Gorillas vet about letting me knwo when they find a dog looking for a home - now I had just got four!

I immediately phoned the vet to ask if I could bring the puppies over for him to have a look at. Whilst waiting for him to phone me back I got out a syring from the first aid kit and started giving them water which they promptly gulped down, clearly very very thirsty. They were also covered with lice and fleas with the skin between the fur not looking too good.

Anyway, we estimated their age around at least 4-5 weeks (our own opinion based on their size and their eyes being open) of which the vets later said was actually closer to 8weeks. Getting some shampoo,we took them home and started the whole wash, scrub and clean followed by some more water, milk and maize meal porridge. The vet later helped us out with some deworming treatment for a 3 day course. Having obviously not had much care or possibly even food lately, they lay down after this and slept a good few hours.

This was clearly going to be quite a bit of work to try and nurse them back to health and get them enough nourishment and hopefully keep them alive. I had just received a very nice Christmas present but was going to have to work to keep it. The guys at the site immediately said that whoever put them out didn't realise that the puppies they had abandoned will now most probably have a better Christmas than them, so I suppose it was a bit of a Christmas present for the puppies to have us find them. I immediately started referring to them as "my & the girls" which confused some Rwandese no-end - referring to them as humans?!

Final week for 2006

Yes, in the home stretch of 2006 and everyone on the site is pushing to finish their team projects before Christmas when we'll be stopping construction until after the New Year. Also the time when we're sending out Season's Greetings to everyone who's been involved with the project and supporting us.

We do also have a little suprise for the guys on Friday, their last day of work. On Saturday Sarah will be arriving for a Rwandan Christmas and New Year whilst Andy and Claude go and spend the Christmas with their respective families. For Sarah and me their's a large, large turkey waiting to be cooked on Christmas Day - no oven, so it will be buried in a hole with hot coals and covered with sand and rock.

Looking back on 2006, we've achieved so much and the guys have really worked well. From a Eucalyptus forest to a place where one can now visualise where everything is going to be and roads, pathways etc are taking shape - already adding even more character to a lovely site.

Last week was also the 1st anniversary of us signing the purchase contracts for the land - feels like yesterday. This was followed by the hedges being planted on the perimeter and the start of the Enviornmental Impact Assessment and eventually the removal and clearing of trees, the latter being our first real big work on the site. Starting with 4 guys working for us, we end the year with about 50 people working for us. Projections for the new year is that this number is likely to at least double with actual construction commencing.

Stonework of Note

The Reception stairs team with Andy (back right)

Yesterday the team building the approach stairs to reception finished their project. The stairs as they are stop about a meter below the present ground level of where the reception buildings are planned. This gives us the flexibility to add another step or two to the final approach into reception or leave at the final level and just increase the final section to meet up with the main building.

This is also the first project phase ( we have divided everything into mini-projects) that is now complete and has turned out to be a massive success. It does take mentioning though that this finished product is the 4th attempt which has turned out to be the final attempt. The good thing is that we've all learnt a lot from this little project and the guys also now have a much better idea of our expectations


Finishing taps to the Stone Table
A few days ago I mentioned about the rock that we planned to have shaped for use as a stone table. This is now nearly finished, tomorrow Elisa (busy shaping in the photo) reckons he'll be done. It is looking brilliant and may actually look quite well in the lounge. Elisa is one of our most experienced masons and quite a perfectionist when it comes to dimensions and whether the rock being shaped is level and/or the exact to the requirements.

New Seedlings Arrive & Stone Tabletop

Fig tree species (Ficus vallis-chaudae) used to make dug-out canoes

The guys from Ruhondo working at the site brought us the seedlings on Tuesday they've been nurturing over the past 6-8months. This included about 2,500 seedlings for the thorny hedge we're planting all around the site.

This morning I spent a half-hour recording all the different species on camera for our plant records - they had brought a total of 23 different species which excluding the hedge seedlings are mostly large trees used in the communities. Whilst photographing each species they also gave me the Kinyarwandan name which I can then try and trace back to the Latin/English name on the internet.

Quite a few of the trees are/were traditionally used for timber but there's a tree for example that was used to make bark-cloth from in Uganda - a Strangler Fig and the fig in the photo is/was traditionally used to make dug-out canoes from. There are also a few fruit trees including one with a fruit referred to in Kinyarwanda as umutima w'infizi which translates into the "heart of the bull". I have yet to see the fruit though as I don't seem to be able to find an English reference to this plant in Rwanda - yet.

As for the rest of the work on the site, all is progressing fairly well with huge advances being made on the pathway to the safari tents. The south-western corner of the road around the 4x4 campsites is taking shape now being one of the harder sections of this road to do due to the undulating terrain which we're trying to maintain as much as possible on this road.

The stairs at the drop-off point that will lead to Reception should be finished tomorrow to a level just below where we anticipate the Reception floor-level will be. The rest will be built into the Reception area after the buildings' floor levels are established.

A couple of the guys who are breaking rock at the restaurant area at the moment unearthed a massive rock (nearly in the shape of Africa as Andy commented) which we will get one of the masons to level on one side and then use as an outdoor table-top in one of the little "havens" on the site. We'll probably mount it on top of some tree-stumps cut to accomodate it. It is very large though and took about 15 guys to tip out of its resting place which should prove an interesting exercise in ancient transport on logs to its final destination.

Recording Plants

Grass-like species photographed (Flower approx. 10mm)

Last week I started recording the plant species on the site with the view of having most, if not all, identified by a botanist/ecologist for us. Starting out it soon became clear what a daunting task this is - in 3 separate 1m square blocks I photographed 26 different species.

This was also only the smaller plants and not the larger trees and shrubs which were in these blocks. Some of the photos I was able to supplement with photos I had taken before on the site.

The other advantage of this is that we should be able to more readily for example, identify butterfly food and larval plants. There is of course the chance of stumbling across something which is a bit of a special species in the plant world and needs to be nurtured. A whole new road of discovery methinks.

Efficient Drainage

Pathway leading to Safari Tent sites
The pathway leading to the safari tent sites has become something I'm really proud of and the guys who are building it. The original plan was to build this pathway with volcanic rock and let it meander through the exisiting vegetation without creating any formal garden beds along it.

The outcome after a few weeks of rain and consequent plant growth has exceeded my expectations - not referring to the amount of work done but the final look of it, it was almost too easy.

The other great thing about how we built the pathway sunken into the ground is that there is no visible water run-off and no pools of water after the rain. The rain just seeps into the soil between the rocks and into the soil along the path where the grass and trees etc are growing. I must admit though that seeing the efficiency of it now during the rains is quite humbling as I didn't think it would work that well.

This very natural method of drainage we'll now make sure we use in the roads around the site too as this is clearly the way to avoid waterlogging of areas. The other thing is that had this pathway been built with paving and/or cement we would definitely have had to provide for drainage channels etc etc. Yes, everyone is working hard to achieve the results we want but Mother Nature seems to be on our side in a big way - as far as this is concerned anyway.

Back in Rwanda again

Stairs up to Reception from Drop-off point
Yes, after attending a very successful World Travel Market in London, I'm back in Rwanda. This wasn't the usual fly-back to Rwanda but driving back through Kenya and Uganda - quite interesting this time due to the massive amount of rainfall at the moment in central and east Africa. Very muddy and wet indeed.

On arriving back in Musanze Sunday afternoon with Andy, we stopped quickly at the site to greet the security guys and I had a quick look around the front areas. The guys have been working like demons and have acheived loads. The stairs up to the front of reception are taking shape too.

Monday was not a working day so my first working day again was today and was a bit like a homecoming with everyone coming up and welcoming me back. The road to the 4x4 campsites is also progressing very well with the southern part and approach cleared and rock being laid for the actual road. Most of the road down to the overland campsites is also ready for the rock to be packed in. My most pleasant surprise though was the pathway to the safari tents the guys were busy with when I left.

This now looks like a stone path through a wild garden with all the vegetation having grown quite a bit with all the rain. Immediately Andy and I got around to getting some other plants in along the way. At another place where the guys are battling breaking through a massive big rock I introduced an age old method i.e. making a very hot fire on the rock followed by pouring water over the hot rock. This resulted in quite a number of cracks which got some large chunks of rock out. There was a bit of surprise as to how I would know something like this as mzungus don't usually.

Elegant Africa FC: into the Final!!

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

What a Pleasant Surpise!

View from Laundry to Restaurant, Lounge & Bar

Arrived back in Rwanda yesterday via Burundi and on a flight that was delayed in Nairobi for more than an hour and a half, so by the time I got back to Musanze I was ready to just relax and fall asleep.

Getting up early this morning, I went with Andy to the site and have a walk around and discuss all the progress to date. GOSH!! I couldn't believe how much had been done in the time I'd been away considering the guys are only working average 4 days a week with the occasional work on Saturdays to collect stumps lying around etc i.e. tidying up a bit. Apparently the guys were a little disappointed that they couldn't finish everything that had been marked out although there were only 3 trees left to remove, so a pretty good job then.

The massive area of Back of House where the kitchen, laundry and workshop etc will be has been finished and it looks like a massive road being made through the forest as this area all joins up with the restaurant, lounge and bar. The area where the campfire will be looks fantastic with the cleared "bowl" surrounded by trees on the perimeter through which the path from the bar/lounge lobby will lead.

The road around the 4x4 sites and the 3 ablution areas inside are done as well. Its quite daunting yet very exciting now being able to clearly see where everything will be. All that's left of the clearing proper is two safari tents and the outer perimeter of the restaurant which we'll mark out tomorrow and Monday.

I'll also get some photos over the next few days and try and get them posted on here.

London News

Travel Weekly (1 Sept 06)
Whilst in London there has also been some Ikoro related matters that we've sorted out and some new things we discovered.

The Travel Weekly magazine of 1 Sept published an article on Rwanda and included a quote from Elegant Africa about the Tented Camp. This was a fantastic piece of marketing for us so we're really chuffed with that. We also got hold of the new Rwanda Bradt Guide and all the details for Ikoro Tented Camp has been published with reference to the Safari Tents for the upmarket accommodation and also for the camping section. One of the community artisans co-operatives quote us in the guide as well with reference to the fact that we have already purchased some furniture from them and that we may be using some more of their products in Ikoro Tented Camp.

Tomorrow before I leave, Sarah and I will be meeting with Philosophy Design, our marketing company, to finalise our brochures etc for the World Travle Market 2006 in London (6-10 November).

Update from Andy in Rwanda

Andy has kept us posted by e-mail on the progress in Rwanda whilst I'm in London. He says the clearing is progressing really fast and they may have cleared everything or most by the 30th when I arrive back.

Andy has also been discussing technical issues and sourcing of materials with Emmanuel who will be our site engineer. This included gumpoles which make up the main super structure of the safari tents and the connection to the mains water supply.

The utilities company was going to cut through the road and lay pipes but it seems they've come across an easier (possibly even cheaper) option which would utilise existing structure underneath the road about 300m away from the site. We'll be quite happy if this works out as this road is an international road leading to the border with Uganda at the Cyanika border post so we would prefer not disrupting this flow of traffic.

All in all, it sounds like progress still hurtling ahead at the site.