For a long time, I have been thinking of providing my mother with a getaway experience to unwind from years of hardwork and sacrifices of taking care of everyone else besides herself. Truly, she has led a life of a heroine like many of our Rwandan mothers. When an opportunity to visit Farmhouse Rwanda in Kinigi, Musanze District came knocking, I couldn’t think of anyone deserving to go with. She was the perfect fit to enjoy the experience and the numerous fun but also educative activities at the place. As we arrived at Farmhouse, located near the terrain where Kwita Izina ceremonies are usually held, we were warmly welcomed by young staff with fresh off-farm orange juice that we sipped on as Diane Busheja, the Operations Manager, gave us a short tour around the place. My mother soaked in the cool weather that made the beautiful ever-green landscape contoured with the volcanoes, even more appealing. We passed through the crops farm and a horse farm that we would visit the next day, among other activities, then proceeded to our private cottage that has a view of the entire farm, volcanoes across, and the Burera and Ruhondo twin lakes on the other side. The view from each room is to live for (let’s stay away from “die for”). The luxurious private cottage has a veranda, two bedrooms, a cozy living room equipped with books to keep one entertained, couch throws and electric fireplace for warmth, especially if you are staying a night in Musanze. As we sat on the balcony for lunch, it was at this point that my mother said “I should be visiting such places at least twice a year”, and I that’s exactly what I wanted to hear from someone who has spent years and years without a single self-moment of relaxation to unwind and recharge. Farmhouse truly was that place. In my brief discussion with Emilia Hagenmuller, the General Manager of Farmhouse, I got to know that the owner is a Rwandan national who built the place as a retirement venue for himself and his family, to enjoy all activities he was fond of such as horse keeping and farming. “He grew up on a farm in eastern DR Congo and his dream was to retire on a farm. Plans changed and the house was going to be empty, but you can’t leave this beautiful property empty, so, that’s when the idea to host guests here came. Kinigi is a tourism and hospitality area, it made sense to build something in that industry,” Hagenmuller explained. Surely, the property is a beauty to behold that it would have been selfish to deprive people from experiencing the natural environment with an ambiance not only for relaxing and self-connection but also educative with a range of crops and livestock farming as well as bee keeping. “The concept of having a farm stay is very unique in Rwanda. Usually, it's accommodations only for people to go and see gorillas but here, you can even spend two weeks on this farm without getting bored. The idea is to teach our guests about organic agriculture, what it’s like to run a farm and invite them to join us in activities to gain hands-on experience,” she said. This is what we experienced on the first day on the farm. Of course, we woke up to a nice English breakfast of fresh ingredients from the farm, the same was for the full course meal we had for lunch and dinner assisted by a professional waiter Cheguevala – he was very hospitable. As Hagenmuller put it “If we don’t produce it, you don’t eat it.” Everything was organic and tasty. Personally, I was excited to learn about the different crops they had on the farm and ride the horses. My goal was to turn my mother into a cowgirl and it was a deal done. As they provided boots and cowboy hats to shield us from the sun, we set off to the farm where we saw all kinds of vegetables, spices such as lavender, thyme, mint, basil, and fruit trees including apples, oranges, macadamia, etc. Everything is grown on the farm to achieve the ‘from farm to fork’ principle. They grow potatoes, bananas, chia seeds, sesame, sunflower seeds, and coffee, among others. Another interesting part of self-sustainability is that animal feed is also organically produced, from grass planting to modern processes like hydroponics and the rearing of black soldier flies for fertilizer and animal feeds. My mother being an animal person, she was very happy and all over the place when we visited the farm side of ducks, chickens, geese, turkeys, and guineafowls, as well as cows. There are 27 cows on the farm that produce at least 160 liters of milk per day depending on the season. “We use most of the milk ourselves for soups, cakes, tea, cheese, yogurts but whatever we are not able to use yet, we sell on the market. The plan is to have our own cheese factory,” Emilia told me. I successfully climbed on the back of the stallion horse – the only male horse on the farm that could handle my weight (sigh...) and because other horses were new mothers to healthy foals named Ruhanga and Ngabo. I rode the horse, walking down the paved road near the yard, it had an accident recently so it couldn’t pace with weight but I enjoyed every moment of it as I learned how to tame a horse to guide it which way to go and the speed it walks with. My mother was standing by playing a photographer, she plainly refused to ride it, holding onto her dear life. Fun fact about horses, they have emotional sensitivity meaning they can be as friendly as dogs, they need regular body massages for good blood circulation and exercises for body strength. They also receive regular hoof care (more like a manicure and pedicure). “Our horses are not only a selling point to our guests because of the uniqueness in Rwanda but we truly cherish them. I grew up surrounded by them on a farm in Germany and the owner of Farmhouse is also passionate about them, he already had three horses before I joined,” said Emilia. An equally interesting part of Farmhouse is giving back to community in Kinigi, Musanze by not only job creation but also offering hands-on skills and training in agriculture and livestock farming for the people around the farm. It is through trainings that they employ people and also provide them with skills to improve their own farming experience and productivity. It is the staff that make the pleasant, formidable stay memorable, not just the beautiful scenery one wakes up to from the window view but the professional and benevolent treatment they serve with. This combination keeps attracting domestic and international clients which vary during high and low seasons. Emilia said that they receive most internationals during summer time and festive seasons, however, “We are not trying to only focus on international guests, which is the easy way to go. We have very good domestic rates and we would like to keep domestic guests coming here.” She added that the farmhouse is undergoing expansion with an additional cottage that will be separated from the other with a shielding small forest, a pool, plunges, and hot tubs, among other facilities. Going forward, she said that Farmhouse will keep on being an element that diversifies Rwanda’s tourism sector by being family-friendly destination, where adventure goes beyond gorilla trekking, to various activities that can be enjoyed by any age range. “Being located near the Volcanoes National Park, it is easier for parents to visit the gorillas and leave the children entertained at the Farmhouse that welcomes children of any age. The same activities that they can all enjoy as a family.” Well, I would say that this convinced my mother into saying that we should go back with the rest of the siblings. At the end of our stay, she was well rested, the touch of being in a different environment energized her again and it was a big win for me. Off to new opportunities of serving our parents right for their love and sacrifices, one experience at a time.
