Ugandan woman preserving age-old cultural norms through tourism amidst modernism threat

After driving for about 29km from the capital Kampala, where one cruises past posh hotels, skyscrapers, big hospitals, supermarkets, night clubs, massage parlours and all sorts of urban facilities, one is welcomed by a narrow, dusty road.

For 1km, the bumpy road finally leads to a rid-fence, with an entrance designed out of logs cut from traditional tree species. For a gate, two logs runs from one side of the entrance to the other. At this point, a signpost, made through wood inscription reads, “Welcome to Ewaffe Cultural Village”.

In the compound, made of murram soil and surrounded by various shrubs, gardens and a banana plantation, a group of drummers and dancers tune welcome songs for the visitors.

After minutes of enjoying the traditional music, guests are ushered into the sitting room. This is a grass-thatched hut constructed in the form of a traditional family house. Instead of modern seats, the sitting place has well-designed and placed pieces of logs and tree trunks for male visitors, and locally woven mats for female visitors.

A feel of indigenous culture and tradition hovers all over the place as the female hosts kneel down to greet the guests as opposed to handshakes, hugs and kisses.

After a brief introduction, the ‘soft drinks’ are served. Today, on the menu for soft drinks are pieces of sugarcane, well pealed and ready for eating.

Located in the central Uganda district of Mukono, Ewaffe Cultural Village is a dream born of brainchild Aisha Nabwanika, 30. Her dream had always been to take tourists back in time, the time when modernity never existed in the minds of Ugandans, the time when the way of living was satisfied through local means.

Nabwanika’s dream was to re-create a traditional village where all family basic needs, including food, medicine, clothes, sports and education were catered for through a homestead set up.

Armed with thoughts on how to achieve that, Nabwanika, set up a cultural village, a place where visitors could have an immersive experience of the traditional and family culture elements of her ancestral area, Buganda, now known as central Uganda.

The cultural village dubbed ‘Ewaffe’ meaning “our home,” is set up on a five-acre piece of land (over 20,000 square meters).

After a welcome soft drink, locally made, the visitors embark on a guided tour of the gardens where fruits, food crops and herbs are grown.