A brief overview of Volcanoes’ pioneering work in
great ape eco-tourism over the last decade.
The Volcanoes Safaris Group (VS) is a unique great ape ecotourism business specializing in mountain gorilla safaris to Uganda and Rwanda, which was set up in Kampala, Uganda in 1997. No other company in the world has invested so heavily in the area around the mountain gorilla parks in these two countries. Over the last decade, VS has taken over 5,000 clients on gorilla safaris and we currently employ over 100 people globally. This track record makes VS the No. 1 Gorilla Safari Company. We offer an unrivalled, integrated set of services including: safaris and our own eco-lodges; international sales offices in London and Atlanta; ecotourism partnership programs with communities and conservation organisations to give communities a stake in the development of eco-tourism; great ape ecotourism advisory services for governments and donors.
In 2005, in recognition of our expertise on great ape eco-tourism, Volcanoes became the only safari company to become a signatory to the UN Kinshasa Declaration on Safeguarding the Great Apes.
We believe it is essential in post-conflict societies that the private sector undertakes not only its core business but also undertakes partnership projects to help rebuild the economy in these countries. This unorthodox two-pronged approach is central to our business ethos.
Safaris and lodges
The Headquarters and Central Booking Office for our safari and lodge operations is in Kampala, Uganda. We also have our own office in Kigali, Rwanda to organise safaris in Rwanda, the only international company to do so. We have a fleet of over 20 vehicles and a team of highly experienced guides, considered to be the best in the region. We are the only company to have built our own exclusive ecolodges near all three mountain gorilla parks - Mount Gahinga Lodge, in the shadow of the volcanoes at Mgahinga, Bwindi Lodge, facing the primeval forest of Bwindi and Virunga Lodge, near Parc National des Volcans in Rwanda. We have started to build a lodge at Kyambura Gorge near Queen Elizabeth National Park in western Uganda, next to a threatened community of chimpanzees. All our properties are as eco-friendly as practicable and built in a culturally appropriate way. As part of Volcanoes’ empowerment program we ensure that the management of its safari and lodge operations is completely in the hands of African staff, many of whose families have survived conflict.
Rwanda and eco-tourism partnerships
Volcanoes was the first international upmarket safari company to start taking clients to see gorillas in Rwanda in 2000, as the country settled down after a decade of conflict. Our Kigali office opened in 2001 and we started to build Virunga lodge in 2002, the first phase of which opened in 2004. No other international tourism company was prepared to take such risks at this time. This early investment on the ground by Volcanoes is a hallmark of our pioneering work in and around the mountain gorilla parks. In turn it has led to confidence in the area growing and helped open it up to the world. Volcanoes also designed and implemented the VS-BLCF eco-tourism partnership supported by the British government from 2003 to 2007. It brought together a group of diverse partners – the Rwandese gorilla park authorities (ORTPN), the local hotel private sector, international conservation NGOs and local communities.
The Congo Basin
In conjunction with Park authorities, conservation organisations, governments and donors we are now studying actively how other great ape sites can be opened up in other countries of the Congo Basin. We expect to take important steps forward in this process in early 2008 and will issue updates as appropriate.
Clients – our biggest supporters
Over the last ten years we have had a host of clients from different countries, now numbering over five thousand. They have been our biggest supporters and have been very supportive of our vision and pioneering work, especially during the early years when the region was troubled. The largest numbers of clients have come from the UK and the USA and the remainder from many corners of the world. Our clients in recent years have included President Clinton's party, the President and Board of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, the Walt Disney Group, Paramount Pictures, the Macarthur Foundation, Rachel Hunter, Born Free, Columbus Zoo, Senator Frist, the President of Macy’s, and the President of Pfizer. Volcanoes is proud to look after clients from the leading upmarket adventure companies from the USA and Europe.
THE PEOPLE THAT MAKE VOLCANOES
Praveen Moman, Co-founder and Managing Director
Praveen was born and grew up on safari in Uganda before the expulsion of the Asian community brought his family to Britain when he was a teenager. Volcanoes now allows him to make a contribution to the rebuilding of the Great Lakes region and he divides his time between Africa and London. Praveen’s responsibilities include designing and building Volcanoes eco-lodges, training and empowerment of staff, developing the company’s Eco-tourism Partnership program and taking Volcanoes forward as the leading great apes brand in Africa. Praveen regularly lectures in the USA and Europe on the unique great ape eco-tourism model that Volcanoes has created and acts as a consultant to governments and non-profit organisations on developing great apes eco-tourism elsewhere in Africa.
Praveen has a first degree in the Biological Sciences from London University and a Masters from Cambridge University. Before he founded Volcanoes, he had a career in policy making and politics in the UK and the European Union, including working for Lord Heseltine, the former Deputy Prime Minister; Lord Newton, former Leader of the House of Commons; Lord Renton when he was Minister of the Arts and worked on the creation of the Department of Culture and the setting up of the National Lottery. He worked as a member of the Cabinet of Lord Cockfield, Vice President of the European Commission, working on the creation of the European Internal Market; and as a member of the secretariat of advisers for Conservative MEPs in the European Parliament dealing with Africa, development and international relations. He is a European Parliament Robert Schuman scholar. He also worked as a policy official in the Confederation of British Industry and ran a company undertaking property refurbishment in London. Praveen is a trustee of Seva Mandir UK, a respected Indian charity working with rural communities in Rajasthan, India and is a former VSO volunteer in Jamaica. He is on the Advisory Board of the Association of Adventure Travel Trade Association in the USA.
Yusuf Mulima Mubiru
Co-founder Volcanoes Safaris and Director in charge of African Operations
Yusuf is a co-founder of Volcanoes Safaris and is the director in charge of the Volcanoes safari and lodge operations in Africa, based in Kampala. Yusuf was born in Uganda and continued to live there during the conflict in the 1970s. Behind his understated appearance lies thirty years' experience in the safari business and a very comprehensive knowledge of all aspects of running complex logistical operations in two challenging emerging tourism destinations – Uganda and Rwanda. A respected and long serving member of the tourism industry in Uganda, Yusuf is currently a Member of the Uganda Tourist Board and is a former Chairman of The Association of Uganda Tour Operators and former Vice President of the Ugandan Tourism Association.
Ravi Govindia, MBE, Director
Ravi was born in Uganda and is a barrister. He is based in the UK but visits Uganda and Rwanda regularly for Volcanoes work. Councillor Govindia has been an elected member of the London Borough of Wandsworth, a major London borough, for over twenty five years and is committed to making local government take practical action for local people. He was Chairman of the Planning Committee for ten years and for two years was Chairman of the London Regional Awards Committee for the Big Lottery Fund. Ravi recently received an MBE from Her Majesty The Queen for services to the community in Wandsworth. Previously Ravi was Head of Administration and Finance and Company Secretary for the Greater London Action for the Disabled, a major non-profit disability organisation, for fifteen years. Since 2001 he has been a part-time Director with Volcanoes.
Giulia Marsan, Company Secretary
Giulia was born in Italy and was educated at Oxford University in the UK. She is married to Praveen and they have one son. She has worked as a researcher for different politicians in the European Parliament and the British Parliament including Suni Agnelli, Mechthild von Alemann, Lord Ryder and Baroness Rawlings. She also worked as a journalist for newspapers including the Corriera della Serra and the Art Newspaper, writing on Culture and European Current Affairs. She has been involved in running the Volcanoes London office for ten years and has supported the administration of the Volcanoes BLCF project in Rwanda. Giulia is the honorary administrator for the Friends of Seva Mandir in the UK, a respected Indian charity working with rural communities in Rajasthan, India.
UGANDA
Volcanoes' headquarters is in Kampala, Uganda from where our African operations are run and where the Central Booking Office is located. The safari and lodge operations are managed by Yusuf Mulima Mubiru, a co-founder and director of Volcanoes Safaris. Yusuf is assisted by Carol Namatovu, the dynamic and charming Operations Manager. Born in Uganda but with family connections in Rwanda, she is aged 28 and has a degree in Tourism from Makerere University. She has worked for Volcanoes since 2003 and has visited the UK, USA and South Africa.
Brian Mugume is head of the Tours Department and is a graduate in tourism from Makerere University and has worked for Volcanoes since 2005. At the age of 25 he became head of the department through his commitment to ensuring clients get the maximum enjoyment from their safaris. Brian has a love of travel and has visited different parts of East Africa, the USA and UK. Agnes and Denis assist Brian in the handling of client enquiries. The Ugandan based guides - Sam, John, Charles, Vincent, Amon, Moses and Francis - are the company's ambassadors and revel in their role. Steven, Messach and Moses in the workshop, ensure our safari cars keep going on the bumpy roads. George and Trudy look after accounts matters. Silver, who as a young orphan used to wash Volcanoes cars, has now risen to be in charge of Volcanoes IT systems.
In addition there are all the staff that work at our lodges and make Volcanoes such a special eco-tourism company. The managers of our ecolodges have the arduous task of running them whatever the local difficulties may be – Charles and David at Virunga; Victor at Mount Gahinga and Richard at Bwindi. Sometimes even getting a humble cheese sandwich served halfway up a mountain can be a triumph of human endeavour. Bosco has the job of making sure the supplies get there.
At Volcanoes site at Kyambura Gorge, near Queen Elizabeth National Park, plans to build an ecolodge were finalised in September 2007, as part of an eco-tourism partnership project we want to implement in the area, linking the lodge to communities, conservation and upgrading tourism facilities in partnership with the Uganda Wildlife Authority. Nicole Simmons from Minnesota in the USA is undertaking research on the foraging ecology of a threatened community of 16 chimpanzees in the gorge, in partnership with UWA and Volcanoes. Nicole is undertaking a PhD with Makerere University. She is also a former volunteer with the Jane Goodall Institute and has a degree in Communications.
RWANDA
Boaz Tumwesigye runs our office in Kigali, Rwanda. Boaz is 28 and has a degree in Tourism from Makerere University and worked in the Volcanoes Kampala office for two years before becoming manager of the Kigali office. His good sense of humour and patience allows him to juggle the different elements of running the Kigali office.
He has travelled to the UK and Germany. He is assisted by Felix Bizimana and the Volcanoes Rwanda based guides – Freddie, Kirenga and Paul.
UK
The UK office helps clients plan their safaris to Uganda and Rwanda, supports clients during the booking, can organise travel insurance and accepts payment for client safaris. Vanessa Townsend, Giulia Marsan, Patricia Asitolo, Anne Bullen, and Ravi Govindia will be happy to help to answer your enquiries. Vanessa joined Volcanoes in 2007 having worked for different travel companies including Carlson Wagonlit Travel. Patricia, originally from Uganda looks after the accounts but also helps clients with safaris to the country of her birth. Anne has worked part time with Volcanoes since 1997 and has been the administrative mainstay of the London office, in between indulging her passion to see every corner of the globe! Previously she had a distinguished career working for the Chairman and Chief Executive of De La Rue and as Diary Secretary to three British Foreign Ministers. Helen Watkins, born in Kenya, has represented Volcanoes at some travel fairs since Volcanoes was established in 1997.
USA
Jane Behrend, based in Atlanta, began representing Volcanoes in the USA in 2002 and has been the face of Volcanoes in the USA since then. In 2007 she was made Associate Director, International Sales and Marketing in recognition of her work in liaising with the travel industry in the USA. She is a travel professional with over twenty years' experience in the industry, having worked for Africa Travel Inc and 4th Dimension Tours. Thanks to her enthusiasm and commitment the Volcanoes passion for the great apes has spread to agents and clients from the USA. We are proud to look after clients from the top travel agents and tour operators in the USA and are members of the prestigious VIRTUOSO VAST group of top travel agents.
Design and Building Team
Volcanoes has a multidisciplinary international and local design and build team for building its eco-lodges led by Praveen. James Ssemanda is the Construction Manager in charge of the team day to day. Born in Uganda and trained as a construction engineer, John has overseen the building at Virunga lodge and has the tough job of implementing our designs on the ground. He is assisted by Cyprien Serugero, who was born in Rwanda and trained in Belgium as a Surveyor. Cyprien helps with the technical preparations, organising labour and surveying. Nelson Nemeye, assists with construction supply and procurement. Born near Mgahinga National park, in Uganda, he was one of Volcanoes’ original employees at Mgahinga in 1996.
Robin Pendleton, Interior Design Consultant
Robin is a New York based interior designer and has been involved in various projects in the USA, including the new Time Warner building in New York. She has been the interior design consultant for Volcanoes Ecolodges since 2003. Charles Okurm, the manager of Virunga lodge, follows up on the fabrics and furnishing work.
Prabhat Poddar, Architectural Consultant
Prabhat is chairman of the AKASH Foundation, Pondicherry, India and an architect, expert on intermediate technology and on the ancient Indian science of Vasthu, which harmonises the energy of buildings with the earth. Prabhat is the architect in charge of the massive Golden City Project near Madras. He has acted as an architectural and Vasthu consultant for Volcanoes sites since 2002.
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