Text and Photos : Paul Lubega
In 1998 the different community based groups met to form ucota. From the effort of Ucota to improve the standards and build the capacity of these rural communities, Community tourism projects around the major national parks of Uganda are not worth missing. While you explore the Uganda’s beauty commonly in the national parks, you will realise that the communities adjacent to these national parks contribute a lot to the existence and sustainability of such beauty spots. While you enjoy the beauty you will appreciate the contribution of the locals. We make sure they benefit from your visit as you benefit from their conservation effort. Ucota and its communities provide the chance to take you around the Uganda’s community attractions alongside the national parks for a complete product of Ugandan tourism industry whereas other tour operators will only take the visitors to the national parks only, leaving out a unique experience of the people’s life styles. Taking our community tourism gives a client a choice between paying more to see less and paying less to see more.
These attractions are the locally planned, owned and operated tourism and community development projects in the indigenous communities. Local life styles and technology, homestead tourism, community campsites and restaurants, eco-lodges, cultural centres, traditional stories, nature and community walks, traditional handicrafts and souvenirs, traditional dances, and a range of local experiences shown to you by the local people themselves. With this ucota gives the visitors an opportunity to see the community as well as what other tour companies provide. The tour operator, Mountain Peak Discovery, which can be contacted on peaktourisminfo@yahoo.com has compiled a total of 20 Itineraries that take the same days as other tour operators but covering the communities.
This makes the tours unique in the way that more is explored in the same time and at a lesser budget as it involves staying in community lodges as opposed to the high-class hotels. Also the same handicrafts are bought cheaper as they are bought first hand from the communities that make them before they are taken to the hotels and other markets. Above all, the savings of the money made from the visitors is used in the village to improve the standards of living by creating employment and buying other basic need plus the social welfare projects, all decreasing the gap between the rich and the poor. Community tourism in Uganda is unique because it is run and owned by the locals themselves in the traditional way as opposed to other countries where the power of ownership of such projects is still in the hands of the middle and rich classes.
We make sure that all our tour programs cover the Uganda national parks and the communities. We are pleased to arrange tours that are solely community if it is the interest of the visitor. Where we have no option of staying in the community lodges, we take their services as day activities. These include community walks, restaurant services, cultural dances, handicrafts and many others as you will see in the itinerary when sent to you. Click here to get the itinerary sent to you.
Contact
Uganda Community Tourism Association (UCOTA)
Paul Lubega (Field Officer)
Ggaba Road Opposite Kampala
International University
Kansanga
Kampala, Uganda
Box 27159
Tel : +256-(0)414-501866
Email : ucota@africaonline.co.ug
Internet : www.ucota.or.ug