AFP: Stephanie Aglietti
Traumatised by rescuing a baby gorilla from a poacher, the young man decided he must convince the hunters they had more to gain by protecting the park's wildlife than continuing the killing.
"The poachers were telling me: 'If you lived around the park, your children were hungry, and you know that in the park you could find to eat, what would you?'," Sabuhoro told AFP.
So Sabuhoro resigned, bought land at the foot of the mountains, and went to the poachers, pleading for them to join him.
Within six months, 500 poachers had come from the forests to join Sabuhoro at the cultural village, building small round huts with mud walls and thatched roof, around a replica of a chieftain's hall.
Now the tourists who visit the gorillas in the jungles stop on the way down the mountain to discover Rwandan culture, including songs and dances.
Men leap high into the air dressed in striking white headdresses to the beat of a drum in a traditional dance.
Women weave baskets, while a former poacher provides lessons in the medicinal lore of plants from the jungles.
Profits are ploughed back into the project, paying salaries of former poachers and their families, as well as a community fund, used to pay for the education of children from poor families, and help create agricultural or handicraft cooperatives.
"When I was a poacher I did not have a house, I was living like an animal," said Barora. "Now I have a salary, a house, a wife and six children."
- 'Humbling' -
Other ex-poachers have become porters, carrying loads as tourists trek into the wild to see the gorillas, while some have even joined the anti-poaching units of the park.
Related articles: http://blog.seattlepi.com/environment/2008/10/31/want-scary-try-guarding-gorillas-in-the-congo/
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