Bigodi a Million Dollar Swamp

Bigodi is a swamp like any other swamp any where the world over, this swamp that has proved to be people’s sources of livelihood is found in Kibale.

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Many swamps in Uganda have been destroyed by selfish individuals looking at using them for personal gains and as a result the community and the nation at large end up at a loss.

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But this is not the case in Kibale, just next to Kibale Forest National Park is this Swamp called Bigodi, The name Bigodi is derived from a Rutooro word, kugodya, which means to walk unenthusiastically. It is said that when travelers reached Bigodi on foot, they were always too tired to continue into the forest thus resting there.

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Convincing the Bigodi natives to embark on the tourism initiative was not very easy as the elders thought that their sons were planning to rip them of their swamp. This was back in 1992 when the foundation of the now flourishing Bigodi swamp project was dug.

Bigodi wetland is an important area of biodiversity. It hosts eight species of primates and over 200 bird species. The most popular bird for tourists to view is the Great Blue Turaco (Corythaeola Cristata). The most common tree species are wild palm, rubber and fig trees and rafia palm which are widely used in making handicrafts. Some of the primates include; the ever elusive Sitatunga bushpig, Bushbuck, Otter Mongoose, Civet Cat and Chimpanzee

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As we talk now the locals are reaping millions of shillings every year from the swamp. It is a tourist site which has significantly improved their livelihood, for this they have a Shs150m Bigodi Secondary School constructed out of the revenue from the project. Added to the Secondary school is a nursery school, bridges, a road and many more business projects that have resulted from the swamp project.

Families have put up accommodation businesses in their homes, craft stalls and groups have come up, and some farmers sell their fresh produces (fruits & vegetables) to the lodges and the tourists which provide them with ready markets. Many of the families in Bigodi have also benefited from sponsorships given to some disadvantaged families by some generous tourists.

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The same swamp produces raw materials for the women group works which they make out of raffia and phoenix palm leaves. They also get color for their products last touches from the swamp, thanks to the Swamp project. They even export their products to Europe.

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Thanks to the good management of the project by Kafred, the locals are supportive of the swamp tourism activities because their children are getting an education and some are even employed by Kafred and the Kibale National Park. Poaching has even stopped because the poachers themselves have turned into guides, who take tourists around through the swamp and the village for community walks.
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This project is encouraging conservation that it has bought an extra-four-acre piece of land to make the primates inside the swamp feel comfortable and also to get the local population live at a distance from the swamp. If other communities that neighbor swamps would adopt such strategies like this one then our wildlife would be

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