A GUIDING DAY LESSON

Yesterday, it was a teaching session to guiding etiquettes to our fellow staff who are willing to become guides.

I was given a chance to train them and take them around while explaining to them the "dos" and the "donts" while on any walk. This was a great opportunity for me to be chosen from many. The students were very eager to learn so this gave me more morale.

We started at around 9am and moved to the nearby trails leaving to the communities where beautiful sceneries can be spotted. Here, the soils are volcanic fertile so this gives farmers a great deal for crop growing. In addition, the domestic animals reared are left to stay and sleep in the uncultivated field for about four to more days. The main purpose of this, is to add more soil fertility since the animals will dung there. And a cow is a mode of payment for bride price here in Kisoro district. This will depend on how the lady is beautiful or loved by the man's family or the wealth status, this will contribute much to the number of cows to offer to the girl's family.

We continued to the best viewing point for the caldera; a dead volcano with three crater holes on top, this gives a chance to hikers a best spot for photography of the three visible volcanic mountains, lakes and rivers around and the cultivation groundswith settlement patterns of the communities around. This feature is individually owned by the local people of the community and is used as cultivation grounds. This favors the growth of both tall and short beans, maize, peas and irish potatoes.

During the harvesting seasons, the excess stock is kept well in a traditional granary made of bamboo stems. The stock is to be used in times of insufficient food for the family. Each family has atleast one granary to use. These structures that grass thatched are usually made by the old men in the communities.

We proceeded to one of the seasonal rivers thatbrings water from the volcanic mountains around inside the smallest national park of Mgahinga; Ntebeko river. This river has playmed a big role in helping the community people through supplying water for their animals, washing and bathing and other domestic uses since the main shortage here is water scarcity. The community entirely depends on rain water and a few on gravity water that is at a distant to some.

It was approaching lunch time and we decided to get back for our meals as we called it a day.