Tourists (above) hike along the Huye Coffee tour experience trail on March 5, 2016. Photo Credit/Stephen Nuwagira Need is the mother of all innovations, goes an old adage. It is also true that solutions to most of our problems are always around us. So, when a Huye-based farmer sought sustainable ways to market local coffee and promote Rwanda’s unique tourism attractions to the outside world, the resources at hand came in handy. The farmer created a ‘coffee experience tour’ hiking trail across the Huye Mountain Coffee plantation and the historically important Nyirankoko hill just above the plantation. Where does the coffee you drink at Ban Café or any other coffee houses come from? Or why would one visit a coffee or tea farm, or a cattle ranch? These questions are expounded on during the hike and, by the time one descends the hill, they are ready to roast and brew their first coffee as the hike takes you through all the stages of the coffee production process, right ...
By Stephen Nuwagira Joseph Ntware, a resident of Kirwa village in Nyarubuye sub-county, Kisoro district, looks desolately as his five children play around the compound dressed in tatters. Although the children are of school-going age, none of them is in school. He says all the schools in the neighbourhood charge fees that he cannot afford. Ntware, a former miner at the Kirwa wolfram mine, says since activity at the mine was hit by ownership wrangles in 2002, he has not got a permanent job to enable him provide for his family. Like most of his former colleagues, he is now a peasant farmer, but can barely get enough food for his family. The Kirwa mine, located about 8km from Kisoro town, is said to be the largest with wolfram deposits in the country. It covers about seven square kilometres, with a yet-to-be verified volume and is economically viable, according to the Kisoro natural resources officer, Vincent Mudanga. Wolfram is a very precious metal today...
Public sector lawyers involved in drafting of the extractives sector laws and policies in the region will next week undergo training to improve their negotiation and policy-making skills. The training is aimed at assisting East African Community (EAC) countries to make extractive industry contracts and related policy to ensure they achieve tangible benefits from their natural resources, the East African Development Bank (EADB), which is hosting the training, said in statement yesterday. The training, that takes place from March 9-14 in Kigali, targets senior government lawyers involved in policy formulation and negotiations and law dons from Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and Uganda. “The training is designed to build the capacity of public sector lawyers involved in negotiating transactions and drafting agreements for extractive and other industries,” it added. The bank said the training will help reduce the risk of costly or politically-difficult dispute resolution, goin...
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