As an indigenous pygmy people, the Twa are generally assumed to be the oldest surviving population of the Great Lakes region.

Current populations of Great Lakes Twa people live in the states of Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda and the eastern portion of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

[citation needed] Traditionally, the Twa have been semi-nomadic hunter-gatherers of the mountain forests living in association with agricultural villages, much as other pygmy peoples do.

[citation needed] Twa children have little access to education and their communities have limited representation in local and national government.

[11] While the Batwa adapted to the changes in their environment by adopting new economic activities and thus traditions and identities, they continue to face challenges to their survival.

Unable to access their ancestral lands and practise traditional cultural and economic activities, the Batwa now perceive their pottery as an expression of their identity.

[12] However, in Rwanda the shared access marshes where Batwa harvest clay under an informal communal tenure system are fast becoming collectivised rice-growing plantations due to a 2005 land policy change.