Gahiza Island – The stay
PART 1 The morning was a feast for my eyes. Blessed with a clear sky and fresh air, I could see what there was where the lights had been shining the night before. Finally, everything that I couldn’t see the night before was right there in front of my eyes. Several shades of blues on […]
Gahiza Island – The trip
After delivering the first inspiring Community Storytelling Workshop to local tourism professionals in Kisoro, Uganda, as part of the ground-breaking activities of Traveller Storyteller, I was invited to visit a very special place, with the goal of helping them to tell their story and reach responsible travellers interested in exploring other activities beyond Gorilla trekking. […]
Kisoro Organic Coffee Experience
Just outside Kisoro, there is an organic coffee farm that I was invited to visit by one of the participants of the Community Storytelling Workshop, which I held in the town as part of the field activities of Traveller Storyteller. Peter and his lovely wife Elizabeth own one of the first coffee farms in the […]
The Smile of Empowered Women
Monday 22nd August – Kigali – RWANDA I spent a few hours in the company of the women of the Nyamirambo Women’s Centre (NWC) last Monday morning. After having briefly met them and visited their neighbourhood on my first day in Kigali, I wanted to get closer to their work and skills. I wanted […]
A gallery that cultivates friendship
Saturday 20th August – Kigali – RWANDA Sam and Tutu decided to open the Inshuti gallery in Kigali during the COVID pandemic – a very brave choice indeed. I met Tutu and Sam through Greg and the Red Rocks Initiative and I was happy to finally visit the gallery and meet the artists in person. […]
The Kids’ Kingdom
Friday 19th August – Kigali – RWANDA There is a street in Kigali that it is called Umwana ni umutware. It is a nice long street that flows smoothly from the local market to another area of the neighbourhood where people socialise, sitting outdoors while drinking a coffee or sipping a refreshing juice. […]
Going Beyond Voluntourism In The Eastern Cape
An initial response of resistance was felt in my guts as soon as I heard the term Voluntourism. Whether wanted or not, this word triggers a small inner storm of reactions, for having been associated, especially in recent decades, with a few bad practices worldwide, built on fake humanitarian projects . Regardless of those unconscious […]
Intro – Welcome to East Africa
My Easter break this year took me to a fascinating country, for a long-awaited trip that I had postponed since December 2018. Happy to finally visit the country that in my childhood was referred to as ‘the mysterious land of Abyssinia’, linked to my grandfather’s memories, but also, unfortunately, to a dark period in […]
Renewed concepts and new stakeholders at the table – Part 2
Remembering the initial impressions I registered while reading the event schedule, and after having reported the main themes addressed by the conference, I would now like to focus on my personal expectations with regard to a couple of themes that are very close to my heart. LOCAL COMMUNITIES Complying with earlier promises, local communities were […]
Renewed concepts and new stakeholders at the table – Part 1
“We are here to work not to chat” – with these encouraging words Christian Delom opened the doors of A World for Travel, the conference with great ambitions for the future of the travel industry. The promises were kept and, from the very beginning, topped with ambitious hope and a constructive collective energy arriving from […]