Kikorongo Women Community is one of the interesting community groups around Queen Elizabeth National Park. The word Kikorongo is a local Rukonzo word meaning “too much sunshine” that is usually experienced within the areas as well as other places near this savannah Park.
Tourists that visit this site get the chance to learn some of the traditional craft skills and these include basket weaving demonstrations and making of bowls using natural fibers. This isn’t as easy as the demonstrators/teachers make it seem. Additionally, you will get to learn how to make beautiful beads out of ordinary materials such as paper which will turn into necklaces and you won’t believe were made out of paper.
No matter how hot the weather is, the energetic traditional dancers will not disappoint with their invigorating dances. There will be a local interpreter explaining the significance of the dances thus making it one of the unwinding experiences to spend your time after your adventures in the National Park.
You can always purchase the objects like woven belts, bowls, baskets, purses and many others as a memory of the place but most importantly, you are supporting a family thus improving their standard of living. It is very undeniable that traditional crafts play very important part in the culture and heritage of most Ugandan villages-even a mere small basket with groundnuts means a lot to friendship. Not only that, just a calabash placed on top of a house is used to send off evil spirits or a traditional healer’s woven purse is always filled with many natural remedies.
The fact that the locals suffered from the loss of their crops due to animal raids, these activities enables them to benefit from the existence and conservation of the National Park rather than feeling uncomfortable with its existence. One of the things you will discover at the site is that majority of the women in the group are widowed (because their husbands were poachers).
Therefore, involvement of the local community group members offers both widowed and married women get the opportunity to improve their economic, social and cultural status. Firstly, the income derived from the craft shop goes towards funding the performance of Kikorongo Women Community inform of music, dance and drama and secondly, the group members educate the local community members on safe motherhood methods, the significance of having clean drinking water and hygiene as well as handcraft making in addition to helping to reduce poaching within Queen Elizabeth National Park.
In conclusion, community projects/groups allow tourists to enjoy memorable cultural encounters around Queen Elizabeth National Park. This allows them to explore the rich cultures and traditions of the locals.