NUR AND RUHANDE ARBORTUM AS TOURIST SITES OF BUTARE

Butare is one of the largest cities in Rwanda. It is situated in southern province, Huye District, and 135 km from Kigali. It was the largest and most important city in Rwanda prior to 1965, when it lost out to more centrally locate to Kigali. Today the site of several academic institutions, Butare is still regarded to be the intellectual and cultural pulse of Rwanda. It has several attractions, among them the National University of Rwanda (NUR) and the Ruhande Arboretum. 

The NUR is the largest university in Rwanda.  It has several campuses and scattered buildings in Butare and outside. The main building is located at Ruhande section nearby a large Arboretum. The main attractions of NUR are the main library, NUR buildings and its environment composed of beautiful garden and trees.

The NUR first building was built by the Belgians between 1948 and 1949, and it belonged to the white sisters. Until 1957 it was the home of the primary school for white children, at which time it became a multi-racial school. It comprised classrooms, dormitories, refectory and a house for non-religious people. In 1963 ownership of the building passed to the Dominican brothers of Canada to house the NUR.

According to donizius Byamukama, the NUR communication and marketing officer, the university visited mostly on academic grounds by Rwandans and other people from different countries.

A Byamukama says those who visit the university are the lecturers and students from other universities and other academic institutions. They visit the campus for research and studies. He says the foreigners who get to the campus are lecturers who come in correspondence to teach NUR students. For example lecturers from Canada come to give lessons in Journalism and Communication department.

They are other people who visit Butare town for their personal purpose and get opportunity to visit the university. They are curious to see the largest and oldest university.

Asked about the income generated from those visitors, Byamukamasaid the NUR is visited for free. ‘‘We don’t charge anyone for the visit…Those students and researchers connot pay money because we give priority to intellectual curiosity not to tourism.”

People visiting the university are attracted by the beaty of the nearby arboretum.

The arboretum of Ruhande has an area of about 200 ha subdivided into about 529 numbered plots of which 454 plots are planted with introduced trees species (both indigenous and exotic species). The size of each plot is generally 50x50 m (0.25 ha). The arboretum counts now 203 trees species established with varying frequencies and sizes. Among the species 146 are broad leave species of which 18 are indigenous species and 128 are exotic species, 69 being Eucalyptus species. These are also 56 conifers of which 2 are indigenous; and 3 species of bamboos of which 2 are indigenous. People visit the arboretum for different purposes. Some of them get there for picnic. They want to get a fresh air and puff of wind that makes them feel comfortable. There small roads along which people walk. It is a nice area, suitable for picnic.

Ruhande arboretum is also used for teaching and search purposes by students and teachers from the NUR and other local and foreign higher learning and research institutions. Furthermore, a number of agricultural associations and organizations regularly organize training excursions at this arboretum.

At the level of climate moderation, the urban population of Butare town enjoys the benefits from the microclimate created by the arboretum. The arboretum constitutes for sportsmen such as athletes and walkers and for students an ideal cool and calm place with fresh air.

The lush green vegetation that is very beautiful, the long trees of different species and small animals including monkeys, gazelles, birds and bats; all of these attract visitors who enjoy watching them.

The arboretum of Ruhande was establish in 1933 at the request of the Resident of Colonial government for the territory of Rwanda-Urundi in attempt to meet the ever increasing demand for firewood and timber. At the beginning, the prime objective of the station was to serve as a production and multiplication field for indigenous and exotic trees seeds in order to solve the supply crisis for fuel wood and timber in Rwanda. Fast growing tree species were to be studied and selected for dissemination.

The manager of the arboretum is for Rwanda Institution of Agronomic Science known by its French acronym as ISAR.  It is now an experimental research site for forestry and agro-forestry, currently known as ISAR-Ruhande Research station.

BAMBE Jean Claude, a technician in ISAR-Ruhande, says the arboretum serves for multi-fold objectives including; dissemination of best trees species, genetic conservation of various tree species, research on agro-forestry technologies, biodiversity conservation and so on. He says it is the only one arboretum they have in Rwanda and the largest in Africa.

In addition to seed production, the management plan for arboretum provides for the production of valuable timber from old plots and firewood to communities in neighborhood. The arboretum provides also non wood such as honey of high quality.

As the NUR doesn’t generate the income from its visitors, the arboretum doesn’t either. ‘‘We don’t ask money to visitors because our main objective is research not tourism,” Bambe says. ‘‘But now there is a negotiations to combine research and tourism.’’

The arboretum of Rwanda plays an important role at the national, regional and international levels as hoard of varied forestry and agro-forestry and agro-forestry seeds.