UNDERSTANDING THE GORILLA HABITAT PT. 3

Where is the Gorilla Habitat?

If we take a look at the villages near Nkuringo on the edge of the Bwindi Impenetrable forest today, we see around 22,000 people living in 23 separate villages primarily surviving as farmers. There is some cash income from bees, crafts and supporting the tourist industry but almost no industry. The villagers are not allowed to hunt or gather honey in the forest. Women and children do the majority of the farm work and are responsible for gathering wood for heat and cooking and collecting water from a stream about 2 km away. Some of the villagers work in the local lodges or as guides and rangers and conduct informational tours for the visitors.

Some of the lodges are very luxurious ($1500 per person per night) and are located right next to Bottom of the Pyramid (BOP) villagers. A number of health problems are directly related to the living conditions. There is no electricity and therefore all heat and cooking occurs on three stone wood stoves in the huts. The smoke is inhaled by all of the inhabitants and this leads to severe respiratory problems. The water that is collected from rainwater or from the local stream has many contaminants and this leads to cholera and other intestinal diseases. Combining this with the stress from continual food shortages leads to premature death and severe health issues.