Bigodi Women’s Association
The Bigodi ladies’s Group was founded primarily to support the ladies in the community and is made up of brave women with incredibly distinctive handicraft abilities. Currently, the 40 female members of the Bigodi women’s organization are tasked with continuing the group’s activities, such as weaving.
The foundation for the Bigodi women’s group was laid by KAFRED (Kibale Association For Rural and Environmental Development), which emerged from the religious disputes with the local tribes. A religious-tribal dispute arose over the land concerns following the closure of the school built on the church property. Since then, the region has been free of these disputes thanks solely to KAFRED.
The founders of KAFRED recognized the need to incorporate women in both environmental protection and local development because the organization had a large number of male members throughout time. In other words, KAFRED supports this women’s organization. Additionally, it provided them with land on which they built an exhibition space for their handbags, arm bags, earrings, necklaces, and other crafts.
The women’s group includes various female projects such the Bigodi peanut butter group, Kiyoima women’s group, and the Enyange dance and drama group. They all collaborate to help other women raise their families’ standard of living. The women use raw materials from Bigodi Swamp to create their crafts. To create the crafts, the women utilize reeds, palm leaves, swamp beads, and other paper trash.
Some of the products produced by the Bigodi women’s organization are shipped to European nations like Germany, while others are sold to visitors. You and your companion can visit the showroom and purchase some African items to bring home as a memento. The artisanal goods are made with a lot of affection. Both the community and the female artisans are paid with the proceeds from the sale of handcrafted goods. Ten percent goes toward community infrastructure development, including the construction of schools and hospitals, while the remaining ninety percent is for women.
The Bigodi women’s group’s advantages
By providing financing for the creation of infrastructure, the women’s group has contributed to the community’s development. For instance, the Bigodi women’s organization helped build the elementary and secondary schools in Bigodi. The creation of this women’s organization has been extremely beneficial to the community’s women in finding jobs to assist support their families. The marsh provides the women with their raw resources. This has led to the conservation of nature by raising awareness of the value of natural resources.
In summary, the community has learned a great deal about natural resource conservation thanks to the Bigodi women’s club. Women’s strong sales to tourists contribute to raising awareness of the value of tourism in society. In exchange, it raises awareness of the threats posed by poaching and encroachment on the land of Kibale National Park.
