FOR DECADES, Vincent Barore depended on Nyungwe Forest and the national park it holds for survival. He would poach animals and fell trees in the park that spreads more than 1,000 square kilometres and counts more than 280 bird and 13 primate species. "I knew the park so well that I had ways of eluding guards to evade arrest,” the 50-year-old resident of Rushyarara Village in Gatare Sector, Nyamagabe District, confesses. Barore used to smuggle tree species, including Urutintibo, Uruhahi and Urubaturo, with which he used to make tools such as ibitebo (deep basket with no lid), mortars and pestles, among others. But that was not all Barore did to survive. He also killed animals within the park for game meat.  Barore started encroaching on Nyungwe Park when he was a teenager and did that for many decades. He was convinced then that poaching and felling trees were his only means for survival. "A few years ago, when security was tightened from within and around the park and the awareness campaigns for proper management of the park gained momentum and enticed many locals, I started wondering how I would survive,” Barore says. But his worries were premature as he sought out a local Sacco, Cooperative Twisungane, and joined hands with other residents not only to improve their livelihoods but also to preserve the park. "By then I had understood the benefits of Nyungwe Forest for the communities and the country in general thanks to awareness efforts from local leaders and conservationists,” Barore says. Like Barore, other residents, including former poachers and encroachers,  are now members of the cooperative, which is based in Buruhukiro Sector in Nyamagabe District. Together, they have a changed vision: that preserving the park would give them more benefit than what they used to get while exploiting it illegally. And their efforts have been recognised by the Rwanda Development Board (RDB), which manages parks across the country. Since 2010, Twisungane Cooperative has benefited from about Rwf23 million in tourism revenue sharing scheme.  Improved life The initiative, introduced in 2005, targets communities around the three national parks (Volcanoes, Nyungwe and Akagera) and supports community initiatives to a tune of 5 per cent of the total annual tourism revenue. The scheme seeks to spur local development but also stimulate local communities’ involvement in the sustainable management of protected areas and parks, according to Elie Musabyimana, a conservation and community projects officer at Nyungwe Park. Since they benefited from the scheme, members of Twisungane Cooperative started an income-generating project to process maize. They set a grinding mill that they seek to transform into a ‘small factory’ that will process and pack maize flour for a wider market. "Thanks to the support, we have moved from poverty to a more improved life,” Aloys Ngendahimana, the cooperative representative, says. Ngendahimana said the cooperative will soon start poultry farming activities and a piggery to boost its members’ livelihoods. They target at least 1,500 members in Gatare, Buruhukiro and Nkomane sectors, which border Nyungwe Park. "I am a proud citizen because I have managed to uplift my living conditions since I abandoned poaching,” Barore says, adding that he now owns three goats, pays for the community health insurance and caters for the basic needs of his family."I am also a trusted man in society. No one looks at me as the other irresponsible citizen who used to kill animals and cut trees for a living. I have even been elected as a community conservation volunteer to help track encroachment in this park that I am so well-versed with,” he says.