The local community and the environment are very important to Kayak the Nile. Our values are ingrained in the culture of our business and in the design of all our kayaking trips. We respect the people, cultures and environment along the Nile River where we run our trips. We’re committed to making a positive contribution with our community projects and in the day to day running of our business.
Community projects
We’re working with local communities in Uganda to give back by partnering with organisations we believe in and organising events we know make a positive impact.
East African Playgrounds
Through our ongoing partnership with East African Playgrounds we’re able to give back to children in Uganda and share our own love for play and fun in this beautiful country.
Kayak the Nile have supported East African Playgrounds since their inception in 2009, becoming an official activity provider for their volunteers in 2014. We work together to provide children their childhoods back through play, promote responsible tourism and offer world-class kayaking opportunities.
Over the last twelve months, we’ve raised $1,877.78 for their cause! This is enough to fund two days of teacher training for seven local communities, ensuring that educators know how to incorporate play into their teaching. This will help improve the quality of education that thousands of children receive, with 83% of teachers reporting improved performances within their class after a year.
Find out more about East African Playgrounds here
Nile River Festival
We’ve been organising the Nile River Festival since 2002. This year’s four-day festival was attended by over 600 people, plus more than 120 competitors from all over the world. The festival makes the most of some of the biggest rapids in the world and celebrates all that is awesome about the River Nile and the surrounding area. We love the fact that we get to showcase everything that’s beautiful about the Nile River and its surrounding communities – including the best whitewater in the world, world-class Ugandan kayakers, welcoming and friendly local people…
Watch our round-up video from the last Nile River Festival on our YouTube channel and visit our Nile River Festival page to find out more about the next festival.
Jinja – Source of Adventure
We launched the Jinja – the Source of Adventure platform in 2016 and since then the community has grown to almost 5000 people. The platform aims to inform the community about all activities in the Jinja area, including kayaking, rafting, accommodation, restaurants, events and more. We strongly believe in the value of coming together with local businesses to share knowledge and increase awareness around the incredible area we call home.
Visit our website and Facebook page to follow along and keep in touch.
Uganda Freestyle Kayak Team
The Uganda Freestyle Kayak Team consists of five members – Yusuf, David, Sadat, Amina and Sam. Four of the members grew up on the Nile River and know the river like no one else. Each of the members now work as a professional guide on the river and trains in their spare time. The Ugandan team competed in the 2015 World Freestyle Championships. Team members have won the following events: Tana River Festival, Zambezi River Festival and Nile River Festival. The team will continue to represent Uganda at the top level of whitewater kayaking and they’re excited to grow the sport within Uganda. Follow the team’s Facebook page to stay up to date with competitions and achievements.
Environmental impact and responsible tourism
In 2018, Kayak the Nile became the first Fair Trade Tourism member in Uganda. We’re working towards developing more sustainable and responsible tourism practices in Uganda and becoming a certified Fair Trade Tourism operator. We’re excited to share the Nile River with travellers from across the world who’re looking for experiences that benefit local people and the environment.
We’re currently working on ways to minimise our footprint on the environment as well. Our Head Office in Jinja, Uganda has gone single use plastic free since 1 July 2018. Our beautiful Nile River is just one of the many waterways of the world being filled with plastic so we decided to do our bit to change it. Check out our owner Sam Ward’s Climate Change Unfolding podcast to find out how and why we went single use plastic free.
