While Lake Muhazi has been among those water bodies that had trouble attracting tourists for some time because of limited hospitality facilities, the trend is changing after the launch of an eco-friendly lodge on its shores. Located in Muhazi Sector, Rwamagana District, UMVA Muhazi, a boutique adventure lodge is an addition to an already growing hospitality sector on the shores of Lake Muhazi, except they offer something different sustainable adventure tourism focused on the overall experience. Some of the innovative features include garden-to-fork communal dining, rammed earth architecture, 14kWp installed capacity of solar energy, and electric vehicles. The facility was launched on Thursday, August 25 by among other dignitaries the CEO of Rwanda Development Board, Clare Akamanzi. “We keep encouraging tourists to visit other places besides the gorilla trekking in the volcanoes and Akagera and Nyungwe national parks. There are many other things they can do, such as visiting Lake Muhazi. This investment will help us accommodate more people visiting the lake,” Akamanzi said. She added that this facility is proof that there are many investment opportunities for locals and foreign firms including in the hospitality sector. “These investors came to Rwanda for work, but after some time, they saw an opportunity for investment. It shows that we have many opportunities and we keep facilitating investors for such projects,” Akamanzi added. Indeed, UMVA Muhazi’s founders, Dr Iwona Bisaga and Nicholas Hu met in Rwanda when they both came for work. They kept exploring the country and in 2017 visited Lake Muhazi for the first time. “We didn’t really find many places to stay and that led to the idea of building a lake house, and then it grew bigger and we ended up with a lodge. 2020 was an odd time given the pandemic, but it allowed us a little bit of space to think about his project,” Dr Bisaga shared. She added that they are happy they made it happen, and that although they have other passions, UMVA Muhazi is by far the thing they are most proud of. UMVA is a Kinyarwanda word which means ‘listen, feel, taste’ and is used a lot by Rwandans when telling an interesting story, and when they need to attract attention from someone whose name they don’t know. Guests at the lodge also find the name relevant to the sound of Muhazi’s nature, the bushes, frogs, crickets and birds. In fact, UMVA is home to more than 60 bird species considered as in-house residents, and the site’s natural flora and fauna were deliberately preserved during the construction. Also, an additional 2,000 new local plants were planted. Their harmony in the evening is somewhat magical, the founders say. Speaking to The New Times, Radjab Mbonyumuvunyi, Mayor of Rwamagana District commended the facility’s contribution to the district’s residents who he said have and are still benefiting from its existence. “The first benefit is through trade. The food that this lodge serves is bought from the community, together with other essentials. Even the people who visit the lake from this facility buy things from our residents. The project has also created hundreds of jobs for local residents,” Mbonyumuvunyi said. Indeed, UMVA Muhazi was built predominantly by the Rwamagana community. 90 percent of materials were sourced within Rwanda, to minimize transport-related carbon footprint. Throughout its construction phase, over 600 jobs were provided, of which more than 45 percent were carried out by women. Furthermore, over 6MWh of solar power has been generated with 14.08 kWp to date in partnership with a local mini-grid developer, MeshPower. UMVA broke ground in April 2021 amidst the pandemic and was completed in 9 months by all-Rwandan firms, designers, and contractors. From when they had their first guests in April, UMVA has received 1,200 guests 85 percent of whom have been domestic tourists. The lodge consists of nine units with three variations: Birdhouse, Pod, and Bungalow, with a total capacity of up to 20 people. It also offers the Studio - a conference room to accommodate corporate or interest-based retreats; a tennis court; a yoga deck; a massage room, and lakeside docks to facilitate boating, kayaking and stand-up paddle boarding activities. “The architectural inspiration came primarily from the natural beauty of Rwanda’s Eastern Province. It also draws on design concepts from Costa Rica, Norway and Japan to amplify features such as the use of large glass panels to ease the transition from indoor to outdoor living and provide a sense of private immersion into the landscape,” their press release indicated. UMVA Muhazi also hosts a community dinner every night centred around one large table. The six-course meal features a garden-to-fork pan-African modern fusion cuisine by renowned Head Chef Bachu Abdallah, who is originally from Eastern Province.
