Singita Kwitonda Lodge Orchid Project
All our conservation work, including this project, is born of our love for Africa and our need to protect it. Become a part of preserving Africa’s legacy for future generations.
With the establishment of a comprehensive collection of indigenous orchids from the region, this unique initiative – a collaboration with Michael Tibbs (an internationally renowned orchid specialist), the Rwandan Development Board, Volcanoes National Park and the University of Kigali’s Musanze Campus – is set to leave a lasting legacy. It showcases the delicate beauty and fragility of rare species and aims to play a key role in the re-establishment of endemic orchids in their natural habitats in this region.
An initial search-and-rescue project at the site of Singita Volcanoes National Park secured 5,300 Cynorchis anacamptoides orchids before the construction of the lodge commenced. These rescued plants were grown in pots in a makeshift shade house until the completion of the lodge in August 2019, and within just six months after its opening, several hundreds of orchids were flowering in situ around the lodge – and several thousands were re-introduced by Tibbs and Singita’s conservation team.
This unique conservation project is of vital importance, as the historic deforestation of the area has led to a dramatic loss of habitat, placing numerous endemic species found only in this region at an increased risk of extinction. Singita actively supports the reforestation of this property, and creates a critical buffer zone between the neighbouring the Volcanoes National Park, the natural habitat of Rwanda’s endangered mountain gorillas and many other unique forest animals, and agricultural land.
