Culture of Rwanda

Unlike many other countries in Africa, Rwanda has been a unified state since precolonial times, populated by the Banyarwanda people who share a single language and cultural heritage.

Rwandan staples include bananas, plantains (known as ibitoke), pulses, sweet potatoes, beans, and cassava (manioc).

[11] Ugali (or ubugali) is a paste made from cassava or maize and water, to form a porridge-like consistency that is eaten throughout East Africa.

[13] In rural areas, many bars have a brochette seller responsible for tending and slaughtering the goats, skewering and barbecuing the meat, and serving it with grilled bananas.

[17] The south east of Rwanda is noted for imigongo, a unique cow dung art, whose history dates back to when the region was part of the independent Gisaka kingdom.

The achievements of the recent years relate to improved participation in planning, openness to the use of local materials in construction, and the equal acknowledgement of tenure rights.

Despite the constraints which still exist in housing finance, lending conditions have improved through the introduction of longer credit terms, slightly reducing interest rates, a larger and more accessible variety in terms of down-payment options, and improvements in the accessibility of the building permitting system in relation to mortgage rules (National Housing Policy).

It is the great flexibility of construction activity in adjusting to different framework conditions that makes this particular sector of the economy a major contributor to the process of economic growth and development (Lopes et al., 2002).

Rwanda does not have a long history of written literature, but there is a strong oral tradition ranging from poetry to folk stories.

The most famous Rwandan literary figure was Alexis Kagame (1912–1981), who carried out and published research into the oral tradition as well as writing his own poetry.

[5] The Rwandan Genocide resulted in the emergence a literature of witness accounts, essays and fiction by a new generation of writers such as Benjamin Sehene and Fred Mfuranzima.