Amakondera Institute for Culture and Education

The Amakondera Institute for Cuture is a key to Happiness and  Hope.  It will bring the opportunity for large performances to come to the VIllage, including music, dance, singing. The traditional instruments and songs will be presented again in a modern style for all to enjoy: drums, Amakondera flute, and the string instruments from Kinyana will form the heart of the performances.  Neighbors, friends and family will come to enjoy the festivities and also some tasty treats like roasted corn and peanuts.  

We have completed the Project Scope and some of the details are included here.  Thie cultural center will include an amphitheater with lighting, public changing rooms, public toilets, performer changing rooms, parking, a display of traditional housing and tools, and rooms for teaching traditional crafts and sale of these products.

While designing the entire cultural center at once is needed for the end project to have cohesiveness, to afford this undertaking, we will complete thie construction in stages. Since the "Abasangwabutaka" people of Cyaruzinge Cell have a building near their homes that is a place of making and selling traditional and modern crafts, along with preparing their children for life in these modern times, the priority is the amphitheater. The people of the Village dream of having a venue where they can display their traditional performing arts skills, and this will certainly prove to be a cultural attraction for many Rwandans interested in their unique music known as the “Intwatwa”.

Stage One will be the construction of the public toilets and amphitheater. The performance stage needs to be large enough to showcase 20 dancers performing at a time, with acoustically appropriate space for 5 - 10 musicians, including drums and Amakondera (wooden flutes).  Space for an audience of a minimum of 100 people is needed, though many of these people can be standing. The design needs only accommodate them being able to see the show without blocking the view of any sitting spectator.  Flush toilets with ample septic to accommodate guests would be ideal.  However, it may be necessary to construct an appropriate alternative such as a composting toilet, depending on local resources. To keep the venue clean, the performers also need a toilet to use while rehearsing and performing, and the farmers also need access to toilets while they are on the land.

 PSA is estimating the ‘outdoor portion’ to cost around USD $75,000, and the total cost of the construction to be approximately USD $250,000.  PSA hopes to raise an additional endowment of USD $250,000 to create a fund to pay for ongoing maintenance and operations of the facility in perpetuity.  This project is a huge dream for the community, and one step at a time--including dance steps!--this dream will one day come true!