Two years ago I had the opportunity to share with Mark Reiner from Colorado, USA, my "Eco-Lodge dream". Now we are coming closer to have the Birambye-Lodge as a reality (Birambye means in kinyarwanda sustainability). The design of the eco-lodge has been registered at the United States Green Building Council's as the first LEED registered building in Africa. WOW! All the proceeds of the Birambye-Lodge will be used exclusively to cover the health and educational needs of the orphans.Can You imagine? In the future we will be able to send our kids to school (kindergarten, primary, secondary, vocational training and also University). Our little kids will have the real opportunity to become engineers, lawyers, medical doctors or whatever else.
Most probably the Birambye-Lodge will offer organized packages visiting the mountain gorillas and the Nyungwe rain forest. Afterwards the guests can relax at the Eco-Lodge or get really active with the different outside options. Trekking along the lake's shore, canoeing, sailing, biking and eventually horse riding (from a couple of hours to a couple of weeks).
We now have several organizations working together developing the Birambye-Lodge:
a) Birambye International, Colorado, USABirambye is in charge of planning, developing and building the lodge
b) GSSA ( Genocide Survivor Student Association ) , Kigali, Rwanda
GSSA will have the ownership and will manage the Birambye-Lodge
c) University of Denver, Business School, Colorado, USA
The University of Denver is in charge of the business and feasibility studies
d) Stenden Foundation, The Netherlands
Stenden is in charge of developing the hotel and restaurant services
e) Redlands University, California, USA
Redlands is in charge is mapping and measuring all the sites and trekking routes
Email Victor to see a beautiful slide show created by French journalists, who recently stayed with us in the village!