By far, the most visited stall during this year’s Kwita Izina Community Exhibition at Musanze stadium was that of Open Land Rwanda. 

The exhibition, which came on the eve of the main Kwita Izina event—the gorilla naming ceremony—on July 1, was a showcase of the local community’s achievements in conservation. 

During the day-long gala, local artisan and conservationists displayed their varied products and initiatives aimed at conserving the mountain gorilla in particular and the environment in general. 

A collaboration between the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) and the Joint Action Development Forum of Musanze District, the exhibition drew from local crafts and artisan groups, tour operators, local as well as international non-government orgainsations. 

At the exhibition, Open Land Rwanda brought out some of the ancient cultural symbols and artifacts, taking show-goers down memory lane to the earliest modes of farming and hunting implements, banana beer production and traditional blacksmith technology. 

But by far, the biggest crowd-puller was the blacksmith’s section, whose simple, charcoal-powered iron-heating mechanism got everybody that visited the stall talking: 

Here, the earliest technology used by local iron smiths was demystified. Show-goers were given a test of the process through which ancient iron implements such as hand hoes, pick axes, hunting and fighting weapons were made using rudimentary technology of olden days. 

A charcoal fire is started over a heap of scrap iron, and then the fire fanned by gently pumping air to it through a tube connected to two air-tight hand pumps. The fire is fanned until it heats the iron bars enough to make them red, soft and pliable. Thereafter, the metal is then molded into an iron implement of choice and shape.  

Actually, many in the crowd initially mistook it to be some sorcerer’s or traditional healer’s ritual.

Preserving cultural heritage

Open Land Rwanda is an arts collection based in Muhoza sector, Mpenje cell in Musanze town. It is basically a cultural heritage preservation and promotion center where key aspects of Rwandan culture are kept for posterity and on display. 

They are situated in an old and large house whose walls and rooms are filled with paintings, craft pieces and cultural artifacts from eras gone by. Walking into the gate, the first imposing image one encounters is one of a mural depicting the Muhabura peak of the Volcanoes mountains, complete with a gorilla standing playfully at the peak. 

They went an extra mile and planted the same species of trees and plants as are found at the Volcanoes, and that are used by the primates as food. 

Next to this mural is a large oil painting depicting the popular American gorilla conservationist and primatologist, Dian Fossey posing with her favorite gorilla, Digit. 

Fossey is credited for spearheading the gorilla conservation efforts in the entire Virunga mountain gorilla massif, having undertaken an extensive study of the primates across borders for over eighteen years before she met her death in the Volcanoes National Park in 1985.  Right next to the painting are the inscriptions; "Dian Fossey 1932 -1985. No one loved gorillas more. Rest in peace, dear friend. Eternally protected in this sacred ground. For you are home where you belong.”

Walking into the lobby of the building, one encounters neat, wall-to-wall displays of colourful oil paintings on canvass and wood hanging from the walls. This is the contemporary section, covering artistic depictions of contemporary Rwandan country life. 

Here you will be led on a visual journey into the country’s popular dances, social occasions like market day, and beautiful local craft pieces sourced from local women cooperatives. 

The contemporary section ushers you into the next section –Mille Collines (Land of a thousand hills), and here, like the name suggests, the legendary cascading hills and landscapes of the country are captured on canvass. 

Another section is called Amarembo, and here you get to see all the traditional herbs used by traditional medicine men, while in the Isimbi hall is a wide selection of cultural tourism products sourced from local crafts and artisan groups and cooperatives. 

Another section has been specifically dedicated to traditional hand-made farm implements and it is called mu rwagasabo. 

At the back of the building is a small gravel pathway that leads to a tiny reed enclosure that contains two small grass enclaves –one a traditional food storage granary, and the other a divination house. 

A tour of the facility is more like a tour of a small cultural museum, as one gets to see authentic locally made bee hives, traditional furniture, cooking and storage vessels, smoking pipes, traditional board games, music instruments, and traditional grinding stones. 

Apart from just seeing the materials used in local banana beer production, visitors to Open Land Rwanda can also partake in the actual brewing process for a first-hand experience. 

"Our objective at Open Land Rwanda is to preserve our cultural heritage and symbols because the generation of today has abandoned its cultural heritage and symbols and replaced it with foreign cultures,” explained Albert Kagimbangabo, the managing director Open Land Rwanda. 

"That is why we chose to locate our base in Musanze town, unlike other cultural heritage initiatives which like to be based in the villages,” he added.

As managing director, Kagimbangabo oversees a team of ten staff, but also liaises often with local craft cooperatives and solo artisans who bring their works here. Four of the ten employees are members of the in-house traditional dance troupe that is charged with entertaining visitors to the center to some of the country’s finest music and dances. 

"We know that most tourists are here to see the gorillas when they come to Rwanda, but after tracking the gorillas, what next for them? The tourists will be looking for a more cultural experience after this, one that will make them feel closer to the local culture.”

On a typical day, the center hosts visitors ranging from tourists, cultural historians and researchers, student groups, and members of the general public. 

According to Kagimbangabo, tourists, researchers and historians make up their biggest clientele. For this reason, the center plans to establish satellite branches in other towns and provinces, and mobile exhibitions in schools. 

A guided tour of the center costs Rwf2, 000 for locals, $20 for foreigners, $10 for people from the East African Community member states. Local students pay only Rwf1,000.