For 547 families in Musanze District, relocation to a new Smart Green Village is bringing hope for safer, better and more sustainable living conditions as Rwanda prepares to expand Volcanoes National Park.
The families are set to move to the village being constructed in Rurembo, Kinigi Sector, Kaguhu Cell, where they will live in modern houses with access to essential services, including electricity, clean water, schools, healthcare facilities, roads and recreational spaces.
The relocation is part of efforts to create space for the expansion of Volcanoes National Park while providing affected families with improved housing and access to services and opportunities that can support their livelihoods.
The model village is being developed on 50 hectares and is expected to cost more than $49 million, equivalent to over Rwf381 billion.
The project is part of Rwanda’s wider plan to expand Volcanoes National Park by nearly 3,740 hectares and establish a 6,620-hectare buffer zone. The broader programme is expected to benefit more than 17,000 people from nearly 3,400 families and will be implemented over a period of 10 years.
The first phase covers about 450 hectares and targets the 547 families living in the area earmarked for the park expansion.
For residents, the relocation is not only about leaving their current homes but also about gaining access to better services and opportunities that they believe will enable them to start a new chapter in their lives.
Nzabonimpa Augustin, a resident of Kaguhu Cell, said the new village represents a major opportunity for families that have for years faced challenges associated with living close to the park and wildlife.
“Building this village for us is a major and important step that will transform our lives. We used to face problems of animals constantly destroying our property and sometimes attacking us,” he said.
Nzabonimpa said having electricity and water in their new homes would make everyday life much easier.
“We are going to live in good houses with electricity and water. We used to share these resources with animals, and even accessing water required long journeys. This will allow us to start a new life with peace and economic opportunities,” he said.
He also expects the project to open up employment opportunities for residents, particularly during the construction of the village and through economic activities that will emerge around the new settlement.
Residents anticipate stronger livelihoods
Esther Mukamakuza, another resident who will benefit from the project, said the new settlement will enable families to engage in more productive and modern agriculture.
“We are going to practise agriculture that generates income because we will be farming using modern methods and earning money from what we produce,” she said.
Mukamakuza said relocating would also relieve families of the burden of guarding crops at night, as they previously had to protect their farms from wildlife.
“We will no longer have to keep watch over our crops at night as our husbands used to do. We would take turns with them when they returned from guarding the crops, we would go to cultivate,” she explained.
She said access to clean cooking facilities would also improve the health and comfort of families.
“We will no longer have to cook with firewood that exposes us to smoke because we will use gas. Schools, health centres and playgrounds will ensure that our children have good places to study and play,” she said.
Mukamakuza added that having healthcare services closer to their homes would reduce the long distances residents previously travelled to seek medical attention.
“We used to travel to hospitals in Musanze town when giving birth. Now we will give birth closer to home because there will be a hospital nearby, and our children will also study close to home,” she said.
She said residents were particularly looking forward to leaving behind the constant threat posed by animals that sometimes entered their homes and destroyed property.
“We will no longer have to worry about buffaloes entering our homes or hyenas coming to eat our livestock and even threatening us,” Mukamakuza said.
Conservation and development to go together
Rwanda Development Board (RDB) Director General Jean-Guy Afrika said the Smart Green Village is intended to demonstrate that environmental conservation can go hand in hand with improving the livelihoods of communities living around protected areas.
“We are building this village to protect the environment while continuing to safeguard the wellbeing of the people,” Afrika said.
He said the government wants communities to live in harmony with nature while benefiting from new opportunities created by conservation and tourism.
Afrika also highlighted the contribution of the Tourism Revenue Sharing Scheme, through which Rwanda returns 10% of tourism revenues generated by national parks to development projects benefiting communities living around them.
Over the past two decades, the programme has supported about 1,300 projects worth more than Rwf23 billion, covering sectors such as education, healthcare, water supply and community welfare.
Nearly Rwf2 billion shared with four districts
As part of the latest tourism revenue-sharing programme, the four districts surrounding Volcanoes National Park have been allocated more than Rwf1.98 billion.
Burera received Rwf495 million, Musanze Rwf659.8 million, Nyabihu Rwf659.8 million and Rubavu Rwf164.95 million.
Northern Province Governor Maurice Mugabowagahunde said Volcanoes National Park is important not only for environmental conservation but also for the economic development of the region.
“Volcanoes National Park is an important part of environmental conservation. In addition, tourism in our province is a driver of development,” he said.
He said 838 projects worth Rwf8.6 billion had already been supported through benefits associated with the park.
Mugabowagahunde urged residents to make the most of the opportunities that will accompany the new village, including technologies that will support modern agriculture, while taking good care of the houses they receive.
“Residents should make the most of this village, starting with the technologies they will receive for agriculture and other activities, while taking good care of the houses and maintaining cleanliness,” he said.
Government urges residents to protect the new village
Minister of Local Government Dominique Habimana commended communities living around Volcanoes National Park for their contribution to protecting biodiversity.
He said the project reflects Rwanda’s commitment to putting residents at the centre of development while ensuring environmental protection.
“This project is aligned with the country’s objectives of developing people and protecting the environment because it is part of our everyday lives. It includes forests, water and everything else that contributes to our lives and our country,” Habimana said.
The Minister urged residents to take ownership of the new village and protect its houses and infrastructure.
“Let this village become a village of development, characterized by cleanliness in our bodies, homes and surroundings,” he said.
He also called on young people to avoid drug abuse and other harmful behaviors, urging them to use their talents in activities that contribute to their development.
Habimana further urged those responsible for constructing the village to work closely with residents and complete the project on schedule.
The government has already acquired the 50 hectares where the model village is being built, with compensation for the land paid, while compensation for residents affected by the park expansion is also being provided.
The project will combine modern housing, climate-smart agriculture, renewable energy, essential services and tourism-related economic opportunities.
A new chapter ahead of Kwita Izina 21
The launch of the Smart Green Village is among activities preceding the 21st Kwita Izina gorilla naming ceremony, which will take place in Kinigi on September 4, 2026.
A total of 22 baby mountain gorillas will be named during the ceremony, which will be held under the theme “Conservation is Life: Securing Our Future.”
Since its establishment in 2005, Kwita Izina has grown into an international platform showcasing Rwanda’s conservation efforts and recognizing the role of communities and partners in protecting mountain gorillas and their habitats.
For the 547 families, however, the significance of the project is more immediate: they are preparing to leave areas where they have lived alongside wildlife and move into a settlement they hope will provide safer homes, better services, improved livelihoods and greater economic opportunities, while contributing to the long-term protection of Volcanoes National Park.