Batwa Settlements Around Bwindi

The 19 settlements listed above are not official villages or formal housing projects. Most are informal clusters of households on the edges of farming communities, often on the margins of land owned by others. The Batwa arrived here after 1991 with nothing — no land, no cash, no tools, and no knowledge of the agricultural economy they were suddenly expected to participate in.

Today, some families have received small plots through NGOs. The Batwa Development Programme (BDP) has been active since 1991, purchasing land and constructing houses using interlocking bricks in several communities. The Bwindi Mgahinga Conservation Trust (BMCT) has also supported land acquisition in some settlements. But for many families, land tenure remains insecure and housing remains temporary.

The Kitahurira settlement in Kanungu stands out statistically: with an average household size of 7.0 people per household, it is the most densely occupied settlement around Bwindi. Mukongoro, the largest settlement near Buhoma (116 people, 21 households), has been the focus of several livelihood interventions including cook stove construction and water tank installation.

The Buhoma settlement itself — located in the Buhoma Town Council central ward — is the smallest documented Batwa settlement around Bwindi, with just 10 people in 3 households. This tiny community lives within the administrative area of the village that draws the most tourists in all of Uganda.