Greg Bakunzi didn’t get an opportunity to study beyond primary school; however, this didn’t stop him from achieving his dream. Born and raised in Musanze, a district that harbours the largest tourist attraction of the country, Bakunzi has made the most of the opportunity to thrive in the tourism industry. As a young man, he got introduced to the tourism industry through his involvement helping tourists hike Mount Muhabura where they would see the silverback gorillas. The father of three said as one who wasn’t lucky enough to study, he had no option but to start tapping into this industry, which he said by then was still a virgin business. Bakunzi builds networks using community art for conversation by working with local artists “I used to work along with a friend who was a tour guide by profession and I would learn most of the work from him,” he said. The guide, he said helped him as well realize the opportunity that came with working in the field, and after doing some research, he found out that this was something he could try venturing into it. His first leap to the lime-light was in 2001 where he came up with his own tourism company known as Amahoro tours based in Musanze. He acquired the capital from saving every penny he would get from his work for a period of five years. Making further progress As a promising entrepreneur in 2012, he again came up with another company called Red Rocks community conservation centers within Rwanda. The centers are based in Kinigi, Kigali, Kayonza, Kabaya, and Bulera. “Under Red Rocks Initiative, we facilitate the local people to fraternize with tourists and this helps in conservation of wildlife as the local population is made aware of the positive impact of tourism to the country,” he added. some of the artisians working with Red Rocks Bakunzi works with the local community to improve their livelihoods using tourism as a tool for sustainable development for both the community and the biodiversity areas -through research and projects that implement grassroots conservation of wildlife. However as he made a name for himself in the tourism industry, he understood that tourism is abroad and some young tourists seek to engage the locals in acquiring skills and sharing their own skills and doing research. Supporting the community Through his initiatives, Bakunzi also supports community livelihoods in biodiversity rich areas through research and project center that also implements grassroots conservation of wildlife. “We are building networks using community workshops, music and art for conservation by establishing public platforms that promote public health, research and conservation programs,” he said. Moving forward, through Red Rocks Community, Bakunzi has partnered with several stake-holders in launching a project with Rwandan disability organization such as Rwanda Ex-Combatants and other Persons with Disabilities Organization (RECOPDO) for the integration of people with disability. His vision is to create a sustainable business model in conservation works by creating eco-tourism schemes that focus on conservation-based tourism. At the moment, he said they have diversified their products and offer a range of experiences with the locals. “We offer to tourists special packages like banana beer making, urwagwa or sorghum beer making, Ikigaje as it’s called in the local language at Red Rocks”. He added. In addition, they also offer other activities like basket weaving and this benefits the locals as they gain skills that aim at improving their lives. According to him, the biggest hurdle that they face is that they need visibility through digital marketing and collaboration with other stake-holders. “By building strong partnerships, we can always get good recommendations to tourists by other tour guides in East Africa,” he said. He noted that business isn’t without its obstacles, chiefly of which is that many locals are very green about cultural tourism and conservation and as such, they offer training and workshops on the business they do so that they can gain support from them.
