Gicumbi: Rwf269 million centre opens to support communities around Rugezi Marsh
A Rwf269 million Rugezi Community Centre has been inaugurated in Gicumbi District as part of efforts to improve livelihoods among communities living around Rugezi Marsh while strengthening the conservation of the ecologically important wetland.
The Rugezi Community Centre, located in Miyove Sector, was officially opened on Friday by the Rwanda Wildlife Conservation Association (RWCA), with Northern Province Governor Maurice Mugabowagahunde serving as the guest of honour.
The centre brings together two women’s cooperatives, Miyove Sewing Women Cooperative and Dukunde Umurimo Twiteze Imbere Rugezi Cooperative, providing them with a permanent workspace and showroom for their products.
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It also includes a coffee shop where travellers and visitors can stop for refreshments, use public facilities and purchase products made by the women.
Dr. Olivier Nsengimana, Founder and CEO of RWCA, said the organisation’s conservation work at Rugezi Marsh is built around improving the livelihoods of communities living near the wetland.
“We found that if we want to achieve our conservation goals for Rugezi Marsh and the Grey Crowned Cranes, we have to start with the people,” Nsengimana said.
He said the community centre is intended to create sustainable livelihood opportunities while ensuring that economic activities do not undermine the wetland and its biodiversity.
The centre supports women involved in tailoring and weaving, while RWCA plans to expand the activities and provide further training and market opportunities.
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According to Nsengimana, the Rwf269 million investment covers the construction and equipment of the facility, while additional resources have been invested in training the women for more than six months, purchasing sewing machines and supporting other activities linked to the project.
The centre is part of a broader RWCA programme aimed at linking conservation with community development around Rugezi Marsh.
Nsengimana said RWCA currently employs 116 permanent workers in the area, supports health insurance for nearly 500 families each year and provides about 1,000 temporary jobs annually through different conservation and community development activities.
The organisation has also worked with communities and government institutions to establish terraces covering more than 154 hectares around Rugezi Marsh.
“These activities help develop the communities while also benefiting Rugezi Marsh because they reduce the amount of soil that would otherwise be washed into the wetland and alter its condition,” Nsengimana said.
RWCA also runs environmental education programmes involving about 570 children through conservation clubs, alongside annual awareness initiatives such as the Umusambi Football Tournament and Umusambi Gravel Race.
For the women benefiting from the new facility, the centre is expected to address one of the major challenges they previously faced: inadequate and unreliable working space.
Yvette Uzarama, President of Miyove Sewing Women Cooperative, which has 30 members from Miyove and Nyankenke sectors, said the cooperative previously operated from a building temporarily provided by the district.
The arrangement sometimes disrupted their work when the building was needed for meetings or other activities.
“Here, we will be able to work every day and at any time we want, unless there is no one at the facility,” Uzarama said.
The cooperative was established by women who started working together after completing their studies in 2024. It initially relied on small orders but has gradually expanded, with RWCA helping the members access markets for their products.
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Uzarama said the cooperative currently has about Rwf1.5 million in savings, while its equipment brings the estimated value of its assets to about Rwf2.2 million.
She said the cooperative’s development is now closely linked to the protection of Rugezi Marsh.
“Our goal is to keep working and developing ourselves while avoiding activities that damage Rugezi Marsh,” she said.
Elina Rukundo, President of Dukunde Umurimo Twiteze Imbere Rugezi Cooperative, said its 14 members previously worked individually from their homes before being brought together.
The cooperative produces woven decorations and other handicrafts, which RWCA also helps them market.
Rukundo said her understanding of the importance of Rugezi Marsh has changed over time.
She recalled that residents previously harvested grass and grazed livestock in the wetland, while some people also hunted Grey Crowned Cranes and collected their eggs.
She said conservation awareness had helped change those practices.
“I cannot go there to destroy it today because I have learned that Rugezi Marsh is home to different species and is important to us,” Rukundo said.
She added that the wetland also attracts tourists, creating opportunities for local communities to benefit by selling their products to visitors.
Northern Province Governor Maurice Mugabowagahunde said the new centre could also contribute to tourism development in Miyove and the wider Gicumbi area.
He said travellers using the Base-Gicumbi-Nyagatare road had previously lacked convenient places to stop for refreshments and access public facilities.
“With this project, we now have a coffee shop and a place where travellers can buy products made by these women,” Mugabowagahunde said.
He added that the provincial government would continue working with RWCA on conservation and community development, including tree planting and terracing on hills surrounding Rugezi Marsh.
The province is also working with relevant institutions on plans to transform Rugezi Marsh into a national park, alongside research into its biodiversity.
Mugabowagahunde said such initiatives are part of broader efforts to strengthen tourism in the Northern Province while ensuring that communities living around protected ecosystems also benefit from their conservation.
Conservation significance
The community investment comes as new biodiversity findings highlight the ecological importance of Rugezi Marsh.
A recent biodiversity survey conducted by RWCA identified 741 species in the marsh, including 472 species that had not previously been recorded there.
The survey documented 197 plant species, 134 bird species and 53 mammal species, including 22 bat species.
The wetland is also an important habitat for the Grey Crowned Crane, a species that has become a major focus of conservation efforts at Rugezi.
RWCA data shows that the number of Grey Crowned Cranes recorded in the marsh increased from 71 in 2017 to 378 in 2026.
The latest count means Rugezi Marsh now hosts more than one-quarter of Rwanda’s entire Grey Crowned Crane population.
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