Bisate Lodge, volcanoes National Park

Designed to make a meaningful contribution to the community and conservation of Rwanda, a new all-villa camp from Wilderness Safaris serves as a luxury base for trekking to see the endangered mountain gorillas. Bisate Lodge, volcanoes National Park. Words: Emma Love | Photography: © Crookes & Jackson

African tour operator Wilderness Safaris is renowned for placing emphasis on culture, community and conservation – and new opening Bisate Lodge, just outside Volcanoes National Park in north Rwanda, is no different. The project injected USD580,000 into the local economy, and gave employment to 250 people from the community during its nine-month construction. Prior to that, the purchasing of the land involved more than 100 landowners, all of whom re-invested money from the sale into new plots. “The owners had been looking at several possible sites but this particular spot, which was full of Irish potato fields, has such a beautiful view of Mount Bisoke that it almost feels like the mountain belongs to us,” says General Manager Ingrid Baas of the location, on the side of an eroded volcanic cone set in 42 hectares. For the design, Wilderness Safaris commissioned Johannesburgbased architect Nicholas Plewman, who took his cues for the six villas and open-plan main building – which houses the bar and restaurant – from the former Royal Palace in nearby Nyanza. “He was inspired by the traditional way of building a palace, which you can see in the tipped roof and round interior. The walls were clad in woven dried grass matting, but instead of real grass for the thatch, he used a lookalike fibre which will last longer in this climate,” Baas continues. “Typically for Rwanda, and for Wilderness, so much of the build involved the community.”

During construction, no heavy machinery was used, so everything from the volcanic rocks for the pathways and fireplaces, to the clay bricks that make up the walls of the main building, was carried up the hillside by hand. The curving bamboo balconies of each villa were also handwoven on-site. “For the locals, it was like working on a very large basket,” quips Baas. Wilderness Safaris also brought Rwandan entrepreneur Teta Isibo on board, whose company Inzuki Designs collaborated with artisans on crafted homeware and accessories such as the grey linen napkins in the restaurant and the staff uniforms made with traditional ‘kitenge’ fabrics. “We got lots of ideas from the National Ethnographic Museum, and most of our fabrics and finishes were influenced by the geometric designs that are prolific in Rwandan art,” says Baas. The lead interior designer on the project was Caline Williams- Wynn, founder of Artichoke, the firm behind several other Wilderness Safaris including Abu Camp and Linyanti Tented Camp in Botswana. Of referencing the country’s colours and textures in the design, she says: “The emerald green in the textiles in the main building is reminiscent of the verdant greens of the rainforests, as well as the vibrant markets that dot the villages throughout the country. Following through with our commitment to the principle of recycling, the chandeliers are made from recycled green glass bottles, and we’ve sourced traditional ibyansi milk jugs for the tables in the restaurant.”

The 91m2 villas are all spacious and cocooning, split into several zones: a sitting room area has a pair of custom-made armchairs atop a cowhide rug in front of a log-burning fire; the bathroom features a black resin bath tub, double sinks with round, leather-framed mirrors and Africology products; while the bedroom has industrial, blackframed steel doors that open out onto a balcony with monochrome zig-zag pattern chairs from South African furniture manufacturer Weylandts. In the bar and restaurant, the design is pared back so that the natural materials – the concrete floor with timber inlay, exposed brick walls, tree trunk coffee tables, and tan leather chairs – can really shine.

Equally important as the lodge is the ongoing indigenous reforestation project. “When we made the decision to invest in Rwanda, the last thing we intended to do was just to build a boutique lodge and sell gorilla treks. We wanted to ensure that our brand of responsible ecotourism made a real difference to both rural Rwandan people and biodiversity conservation,” comments Grant Woodrow, COO of Wilderness Safaris, which has partnered with the African Wildlife Foundation to actively expand the area of the Volcanoes National Park and the endemic Albertine Rift wildlife in it. “We will collaborate together to re-forest the land and ultimately donate it back to the government of Rwanda for inclusion in the national park.” At the last count, nearly 15,000 trees had already been planted. Specific long-term future community-related projects are still being decided, but could involve bee-keeping training and working with primary and secondary schools in some capacity. Already the villagers have set up the Tuzamurane Co-operative, through which the hotel regularly buys, among other things, potatoes and fire wood (for every tree chopped down, five are re-planted). Guests can go with in-house guide Aline Umutoni – a former Volcanoes National Park guide – on nature walks around the property and to meet the locals to understand more about their daily lives, from working the potato fields to how they build their houses and make sorghum beer. Before checking-out, everyone is encouraged to plant a tree with the help of agronomist Jean-Moise Habimana and given the co-ordinates so it can be found on their return. It’s a typically thoughtful touch that feeds into the experiential travel market and ultimately sums up the giving-back ethos that characterises Bisate Lodge. Sources: Sleeper, 9-10, 2017

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