“Compared to other African countries,
this is a great place for women to start
a business. President Paul Kagame is a
self-described feminist — women make
up an incredible 62% of Rwanda’s national
legislature — we have a successful Made
In Rwanda programme and our Minister of
Trade and Industry, Soraya Hakuziyaremye,
is a businesswoman with a track record in
female empowerment. Many of the young
people I speak to want to launch their own
creative start-up.”
Ready to acquire a new creative skill of
my own, I visit Azizi Life Studio — near
the Kigali Convention Centre — for a crash
course in imigongo making. Few African
art forms are as distinctive as imigongo,
Rwandan graphic panels created from a cow
dung putty pressed onto wood. Once dried,
sanded and painted, they’re like lightweight
geometric carvings. You can pick them up
at crat stalls all over town, and Azizi’s team
loves teaching people how to make them.
Master imigongo maker Alexis
Nsengiyumva shows me the ropes. The aroma
of the putty — actually a mixture of cow dung
and cooking ire ash — is challenging, but the
technique is strangely satisfying. By the end
of the session, I’m hooked.
With so much energy simmering away, it’s
only a matter of time before Kigali gets its
own creative academy. “Things happen fast
here,” street art enthusiast Judith Kaine tells
me. Her community-based art foundation
Kurema, Kureba, Kwiga (To Create, To See,
To Learn) matchmakes muralists with
patrons, and organises ad hoc tours. “When
I moved to Rwanda from the US about seven
years ago, Kigali only had a couple of proper
galleries. Now it has 10.”
In the brightly painted yard at Inema,
one of Kigali’s leading art spaces, local kids
are throwing everything they’ve got into a
drumming and dance show. By the looks
on their faces, they’d be dancing whether
anyone was watching or not. “Art, music,
dance, the visual story of our environment
— they’re all interlinked,” says artist and
co-founder Emmanuel Nkuranga. “How cool
is it to have kids come here and learn about
their culture, where they’ve come from
— and where they’re going?”INSIDER TIPS
The Map — Kigali is a brilliant
visual reference, annotated
with useful suggestions from
the editors of livinginkigali.com
as well as crowd-sourced tips
from a range of Kigali residents.
africaguidemaps.com/maps
(RRP: £12.99).Buying a local SIM for your
mobile phone involves a
lengthy procedure that includes
presenting your passport. If you
prefer using wi-i, you’re in luck:
most hotels provide it and in
central Kigali, you’re never far
from a hotspot. To pinpoint them,
use the WiFi Map app. wifimap.ioYego cabs and motos (motorbike
taxis) ofer metered rides without
the hassle of haggling and are
bookable via an Android app or
by dialling 9191. yegomoto.com144 nationalgeographic.co.uk/travel
KIGALI