Connecting Lodges to Communities and Conservation
The Volcanoes Safaris Partnership Trust (VSPT), established in 2009, is a non-profit organization that connects Volcanoes’ Rwanda and Uganda luxury lodges to the neighboring communities and conservation activities. The VSPT receives funding through Volcanoes Safaris, which contributes $50 per night from each guest staying at a Volcanoes lodge, as well as private donations by our guests and others.
The VSPT aims to create long-term, self-sustaining projects that enrich the livelihoods of local communities, promote the conservation of the great apes, restore natural habitats and work with communities and institutions to reduce human-wildlife conflict. As part of their stay at Volcanoes Lodges, guests get an opportunity to visit VSPT projects and to share the lives of the local communities.
Improving livelihoods, protecting fragile ecosystems, and conservation of great apes
Bwindi Bar, near Bwindi Lodge, provides training in hospitality to local disadvantaged youths. In 2016 Bwindi Bar received recognition for its community training program as the winner of the PURE Community Engagement Award!
The Gahinga Batwa Village, a permanent village for one of the oldest surviving indigenous people in the Central African Forest, the Mount Gahinga Batwa Community, was officially opened in May 2018 in Gahinga, Uganda.
The Kyambura Gorge Eco-tourism Project was launched in February 2019. VS and VSPT have been working to safeguard the gorge ecosystem for over 10 years, and today are the largest single stakeholder in the gorge ecosystem after the Uganda Wildlife Authority.
