While I planned to archive this blog (KilimbiViews.com) earlier this year, I have not gotten that done. Teresa and I visited Rwanda in September, so I have some new photos to share. We attended the graduation of the Rwanda Institute for Conservation Agriculture (RICA) Class of 2025 – the third cohort to graduate. We still knew many of these students, and it was great to join them in celebrating their graduation. It was also great to have time to re-connect with RICA faculty and staff, and spend a few days on campus. We were also able to travel a few days across the country and see some things we had not seen in the past.
RICA Class of 2025, with graduation on the RICA campus. September 19, 2025.Teresa and I at RICA’s graduation. September 19, 2025Flowers in bloom in front of the Howard G. Buffett Campus Center, RICA. September 18, 2025.Replica of the King’s Palace, King’s Palace Museum, Nyanza. September 21, 2025.Palace built for the King in the 1930’s by Belgium. King’s Palace Museum, Nyanza. September 21, 2025.Teresa with Inyambo cow and herdsman. King’s Palace Museum, Nyanza. September 21, 2025.Nyungwe National Park. September 22, 2025.Mountain Monkey, Nyungwe National Park. September 22, 2025.Regal Sunbird, Nyungwe National Park. September 22, 2025.Great Blue Turaco, Nyungwe National Park. September 22, 2025.Great Blue Turaco, Nyungwe National Park. September 22, 2025.
While not the greatest video, this provides some idea of the difficulty in photographing a Great Blue Turaco, or really most turacos I’ve tried to shoot – they move around a lot. I share this also to give you an idea of their interesting calls. This is one bird in a flock my guide was able to call in. Nyungwe National Park, September 22, 2025.Rwenzori Turaco, Nyungwe National Park. September 22, 2025.Rwenzori Turaco, Nyungwe National Park. September 22, 2025.Regal Sunbird, Nyungwe National Park. September 22, 2025.Archer’s Robin Chat, Nyungwe National Park. September 22, 2025.
Tea plantation at the edge of Nyungwe National Park. September 22, 2025. My guide, Claver Ntoyinkima, was a national expert on birds of Rwanda. He was a great asset in finding and identifying birds in the park.Our cabin at the Munazi Eco Lodge, a new lodge locating within Nyungwe National Park. It had just opened in July. September 22, 2025.
A year ago yesterday, Jan. 19, 2024, we enjoyed the farewell reception given for Teresa and I as we wrapped up our time at the Rwanda Institute for Conservation Agriculture (RICA). We have been back in Nebraska almost a year now, very much enjoying being closer to family, and being back at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. However, we also deeply miss the RICA family and Rwanda. We were privileged to be back in Rwanda last September for the graduation ceremony of the class of 2024 – the second cohort of students at RICA. We were also privileged to be joined on our trip by Glen Slater, long-time friend and UNL colleague. The photos below are from that visit to Rwanda and RICA.
As our extended time in Rwanda is complete and our visits back to RICA will be infrequent, this will be my last posting to Kilimbi Views, and I will shut the site down later this year. Thanks very much for following our journey over the past six years.
Richard Ferguson
In the downtown Kigali market, September 16, 2024.Dinner at the Ruzizi Tented Lodge, Lake Ihema, Akagera National Park, September 17, 2024.Red-capped Robin Chat, Akagera National Park, September 17, 2024.Hippo watching our boat during our Lake Ihema tour. September 17, 2024.Hippos entering the water, Lake Ihema, September 17, 2024.Black Rhino, Lake Ihema. These animals are quite reclusive, and we had not seen them before in Akagera National Park. September 17, 2024.African Fish Eagle, Lake Ihema, September 17, 2024.Great Cormorant, Lake Ihema, September 17, 2024.Nile Crocodile, Lake Ihema, September 17, 2024.Spur-Winged Lapwing, Lake Ihema, September 17, 2024.Osprey, Lake Ihema, September 17, 2024.Goliath Heron, Lake Ihema, September 17, 2024.Lilac-Breasted Roller, Akagera National Park, September 18, 2024.Young elephants play-fighting. Akagera National Park, September 18, 2024.Giraffe, Akagera National Park, September 18, 2024.Blue-Headed Tree Agama, Akagera National Park, September 18, 2024.Cape Buffalo, Akagera National Park, September 18, 2024.Glen Slater, Adda Ireba, Teresa and Richard, Ian and Chelsea Carpenter, with Virunga Mountains in background. September 19, 2024.Potato fields at the edge of Volcanoes National Park, on Golden Monkeys trek. September 19, 2024.Golden Monkey with lunch. Volcanoes National Park, September 19, 2024.Golden Monkey with her baby. Volcanoes National Park, September 19, 2024.Potato harvest from fields at the edge of Volcanoes National Park. September 19, 2024.Glen Slater and I following our Golden Monkeys trek. September 19, 2024.RICA 2024 graduating class, along with RICA faculty and leadership. I was privileged to be able to join the platform party. Prime Minister Edouard Ngirente, center, was the guest speaker. Kigali Convention Center, September 20, 2024.Teresa and I with Jack, a 2024 RICA graduate, and his parents. Kigali Convention Center, September 20, 2024.New bicycles on the RICA campus. September 21, 2024.Woodland Kingfisher, RICA campus, September 22, 2024.Sunrise over the Virunga Mountains, from the Ingagi Park View Lodge. September 19, 2024.
We have lived for the past four months back in Nebraska, very much missing Rwanda and the people of the Rwanda Institute for Conservation Agriculture (RICA). I was asked to speak at a conference in Kigali in late May, which provided a great opportunity to return to Rwanda. We were back for just one week, which made for a very quick visit, and unfortunately short time back on campus. I was able to visit Umusambi Village, a wetland east of Kigali that is a restoration area for endangered Grey-Crowned Cranes, and the Nyandungu Urban Wetland Eco-Park, on the eastern edge of Kigali, to collect some bird photos. We spent one day on the RICA campus. The following photos are part of what we saw during our week in Rwanda.
Richard Ferguson
Black-Headed Gonalek. Umusambi Village, May 20, 2024Yellow-Billed Duck. Umusambi Village, May 20, 2024.Female Sunbird (unknown species) delivering a meal to her babies. Umusambi Village, May 20, 2024.Grey-Crowned Crane. Umusambi Village, May 20, 2024.Flock of Grey-Crowned Cranes. Umusambi Village, May 20, 2024.African Striped Skink. Umusambi Village, May 20, 2024.Black-Headed Weavers. Umusambi Village, May 20, 2024.Variable Sunbird. Nyandungu Eco-Park, May 21, 2024.Scarlet-Chested Sunbird. Nyandungu Eco-Park, May 21, 2024.Black Kite (also called Yellow-Billed Kite). Nyandungu Eco-Park, May 21, 2024.Pigeonwing (?). Nyandungu Eco-Park, May 21, 2024.Perhaps a Wild Hibiscus or Mallow? Nyandungu Eco-Park, May 21, 2024.African Paradise Flycatcher. I knew these birds could be found in this habitat, but had never seen one before. Nyandungu Eco-Park, May 21, 2024.African Paradise Flycatcher and a hungry youngster. Nyandungu Eco-Park, May 21, 2024.Speckled Mousebird. Nyandungu Eco-Park, May 21, 2024.Young Black-Headed Heron. Nyandungu Eco-Park, May 21, 2024.Nyandungu Eco-Park staff member clearing invasive Water Hyacinth from a pond. May 21, 2024.Shopkeeper adjusting his display of goods, primarily for visitors, as his shop is in the tourist-oriented car-free market, central Kigali. May 22, 2024.Making a delivery. Kigali central market. May 22, 2024.Yellow-Billed Storks roosting in the Kigali central market. May 22, 2024.Moto-taxi drivers waiting for customers. Kigali central market. May 22, 2024.Teresa with Adda, Honorine and Jeanine, during a get-together with RICA graduates and 3rd-year students in Kigali. May 22, 2024.Teresa and I, along with Molly Wilson, RICA Communications Director, with graduates and 3rd-year RICA students. May 22, 2024.RICA security guards leaving campus early in the morning at the end of their overnight shift. May 24, 2024.Progress in paving the West Access Road, RICA Campus. May 24, 2024.Teresa catching up with RICA students at lunch. May 24, 2024.
The past two months have been busy and eventful, which has delayed my posting an update. Most significantly, I retired as Vice Chancellor of the Rwanda Institute for Conservation Agriculture (RICA) in January, after five amazing, challenging and rewarding years in Rwanda. Teresa and I returned to Nebraska on January 23, where I will resume my faculty position in the Department of Agronomy and Horticulture at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. We leave RICA and Rwanda with very mixed emotions: sad to leave the people of RICA and the country of Rwanda, but looking forward to being closer to family and having a different focus for our time.
As it has been two months since I last posted, there are a lot of photos I could share. There are more than usual below, selected to represent our activities and emotions through this time. Since we will be returning to Rwanda periodically, I will maintain this site for awhile to share future observations. Thanks for following us over the years!
Richard Ferguson
Hamerkop posing at the RICA beach on the shore of Lake Kilimbi. January 2, 2024.Young Vervet monkeys posing near RICA’s silvipasture. January 9, 2024.University of Nebraska-Lincoln students joining RICA First Year students in cleaning barns as part of regular field activities for their Practical Farming class. UNL students were on RICA’s campus during the first week of classes this term as part of a study abroad class. January 9, 2024.A Woodland Kingfisher perched on a light cable near Kilimbi House, the RICA Vice Chancellor’s residence. A pair of Kingfishers established a nest in a tree in front of Kilimbi House. January 1, 2024.The screened-in front porch of Kilimbi House. We found this to be a favorite spot for morning devotions and other mosquito-free activities during the seven months we lived there. January 15, 2024.One of RICA’s kitchen staff grilling brochettes for a reception we held at Kilimbi House for 3rd Year Students before they left campus for their six-month internship. January 11, 2024.Teresa and I with 3rd Year Students during their farewell reception ahead of their internships. January 11, 2024.Teresa and I with a painting of us commissioned by 3rd Year Students, taken from a photograph of us in traditional attire at a campus event last year. January 11, 2024. A Lesser-Striped Swallow perched along RICA’s Spine Path. January 14, 2024.A Yellow-Throated Longclaw with a grasshopper meal on the RICA campus. December 31, 2023.RICA’s dairy enterprise classroom, Inyange Hall, early in the morning. January 22, 2024.
The view and sounds from the front porch of Kilimbi House, looking out over Lake Kilimbi. January 20, 2024.Sundowner kitchen staff with gifts for Teresa and I after dinner. January 22, 2024.A male Black-Headed Weaver with an early start to a nest on the RICA campus. January 6, 2024.
An active village of Black-Headed Weavers. (Note there is some construction noise in the background). January 6, 2024.
Termites leaving the ground at dusk along the RICA Spine Path. Students are playing basketball on the other side of the path. January 7, 2024.Flowers in the garden of Kilimbi House. January 21, 2024.
RICA First Year students learning to operate two-wheel tractors, here with mowing attachments. January 23, 2024.
Sights and sounds around farmland and marshland near Lake Kilimbi on an early morning bike ride. December 6, 2023.
On January 19 RICA staff and students held a farewell reception for Teresa and I. This video summary of the event was produced by Molly Wilson, RICA Director of Communications. January 19, 2024.Acacia tree and sunset on the RICA campus. January 14, 2024.The world has changed for our African cat Little Bit. January 26, 2024 – Lincoln, Nebraska.
Fisherman on Lake Kilimbi. A center-pivot irrigated field of maize of the Rwanda Institute for Conservation Agriculture (RICA) is in the background. October 14, 2023.White-Browed Coucal on the RICA campus. November 4, 2023.RICA First-Year students place pest-control tape around a mango tree. November 14, 2023.RICA Second-Year students clean pens in the swine enterprise. November 14, 2023.A RICA Second-Year student feeds laying hens in the poultry enterprise. November 14, 2023.We were able to spend time with our family during Thanksgiving week. On Thanksgiving Day, some of us went on a mountain gorilla trek in Volcanoes National Park. From left to right is Emmanuel (our guide), nephew Brad Carpenter, son Ben Ferguson, niece Chelsea Carpenter, son Ryan Ferguson and me. November 23, 2023.We visited the Igishe Family on the slopes of Mt. Karisimbi, the highest peak in Volcanoes National Park at 14,787 ft. The Igishe Family is the largest in the park with 36 members, including 6 silverbacks; Igishe (above) and 5 of his sons. November 23, 2023.Gorillas were mostly oblivious to our visit. This one slept through much of the hour we visited. November 23, 2023.Harvesting tea at the Sorwathe Tea Plantation. Part of the factory is in the background. November 22, 2023.Worker selecting tea leaves to harvest, Sorwathe Tea Plantation. November 22, 2023.View of the valley with tea and other crops north of the Sorwathe Tea Plantation. Note the volcano peak in the far distance. November 21, 2023.Male Variable Sunbird, Sorwathe Tea Plantation. November 22, 2023.
A relatively new sign at the entrance to the Rwanda Institute for Conservation Agriculture (RICA). The sign was installed in advance of RICA’s first graduation in August. The dairy pasture is in the background. July 23, 2023.Teresa and I were privileged to attend the 19th Kwita Izina, the annual gorilla naming ceremony held outside Volcanoes National Park. At the event, babies born during the past year are given names, mostly be invited celebrity and VIP guests. September 1, 2023.Traditional dancers entertain before the Kwita Izina naming ceremony. September 1, 2023.Celebrities on-stage to name “their” baby gorilla. Here actor Idris Elba and his wife announce a baby gorilla name. September 1, 2023.Child playing with a worn out tire along the road to Volcanoes National Park. Old bike and motorcycle tires are often seen as children’s toys. September 1, 2023.Teresa and I went on a golden monkey trek in Volcanoes National Park the day after Kwita Izina. Here a troop of golden monkeys are looking for left-over potatoes after harvest in a farmer’s field adjacent to the Park. September 2, 2023.Teresa and I on the golden monkey trek, Volcanoes National Park, with bamboo forest in the background. September 2, 2023.Golden monkey enjoying a potato breakfast. September 2, 2023.I had heard that porters would actually carry people into the park for gorilla or golden monkey treks, but had not observed that until this trip. This woman injured her foot on a hike the previous day, and porters carried her into the park to see golden monkeys. Her husband said they would carry her on a gorilla trek the next day. September 2, 2023.Children watching visitors depart from their fields after seeing golden monkeys. September 2, 2023.The latest cohort of RICA students headed to their first class of their university career – AGR 101 Practical Farming. September 11, 2023.Practical Farming class lectures are held in the Kofi Boa Extension Center. September 11, 2023.Students getting used to taking class notes on their new computers. September 11, 2023.John Bosco Talemwa, RICA’s Mechanization Lecturer, coordinates a team of eight faculty in teaching AGR 101 Practical Farming. September 11, 2023.Several RICA administrators had the opportunity to visit EARTH University in Costa RICA in September. EARTH University is one of the models used in developing the academic program and curriculum for RICA. A visit to EARTH had been planned for April 2020, but was put on extended hold due to the COVID pandemic. This building is EARTH’s library. September 18, 2023.
Leaf cutter ants moving along a sidewalk and crossing a road on the EARTH University campus. September 18, 2023.
EARTH University has an active banana plantation on their campus, with a network of ‘banana trains’ to transported harvested bananas from the field to the processing center. September 20, 2023.A student planting maize during field activities of the Practical Farming course. Students spend 7-8 hours each week in the field for this course. September 27, 2023.RICA staff enjoy a volleyball game on a Friday afternoon. The sand volleyball court is adjacent to the Vice Chancellor residence, Kilimbi House. September 29, 2023.A full moon illuminates the RICA campus on October 7, 2023.
It has been awhile since I last posted – almost three months. It’s not that nothing has been happening; on the contrary, the last several weeks have been very full and meaningful. Since my last post on May 25, we have: returned to Rwanda June 1; left Rwanda June 2 to attend the 3rd Africa Congress on Conservation Agriculture for a week in Morocco; moved into the Vice Chancellor residence at RICA (Kilimbi House) in mid-June; interviewed candidates for RICA’s new Deputy Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs in early July; went to Boston mid-July for a week for Ryan and Alison’s wedding; hosted a visit to RICA by the President of the Republic of Congo on our wedding anniversary; hosted dinners for faculty, graduating students, and RICA leadership at Kilimbi House the week before graduation; and enjoyed the graduation ceremony for RICA’s first class – complete with participation by President Paul Kagame and Chancellor Howard Buffett. Consequently there are a few more photos than normal in today’s post. Teresa and I are looking forward to a few quieter days before we welcome RICA’s next cohort of students to campus for orientation August 27.
Richard Ferguson
The Rwanda Institute for Conservation Agriculture (RICA) Class of 2023, along with His Excellency Paul Kagame, Howard Buffett, RICA administration and faculty (RICA photo). August 8, 2023.Greeting His Excellency Paul Kagame on his arrival to campus, along with Howard Buffett (RICA photo). August 8, 2023.Teresa greeting His Excellency Paul Kagame (RICA photo). August 8, 2023.His Excellency Paul Kagame and Howard Buffett dedicating the RICA campus (RICA photo). August 8, 2023.RICA leadership following the campus dedication. Left to right; Jean Claude Kayisinga, Deputy Vice Chancellor for Institutional Development; Michelle Ntukanyagwe, Deputy Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs; Richard Ferguson, Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Research and Extension; Chancellor Howard Buffett; H.E. Paul Kagame; Ron Rosati, Vice Chancellor for Operations and Administration; Lydia Bwakira, Deputy Vice Chancellor for Operations and Finance; Magnifique Nzaramba, Deputy Vice Chancellor for Extension and Applied Research; and Valentine Uwamariya, Rwanda Minister of Education (RICA photo). August 8, 2023.Dr. Fausta Dutuze, RICA Senior Lecturer and Faculty Senate Chair, carrying the RICA mace and leading faculty in the graduation procession (RICA photo). August 8, 2023.‘Convening the congregation’, and providing opening remarks at RICA’s graduation (RICA photo). August 8, 2023.Overview of RICA’s graduation during my opening remarks. Graduation was held in a tent on RICA’s football field, seating 600 attendees (RICA photo). August 8, 2023.RICA’s first graduate to cross the stage – Germaine Akeza (RICA photo). August 8, 2023.Kilimbi House porch, in preparation for hosting 80 Class of 2023 students for dinner. August 1, 2023.RICA kitchen staff grilling goat and chicken brochettes at our house for the Class of 2023 dinner. August 1, 2023.RICA Class of 2023 (except for three students) with Teresa and I in our house. August 1, 2023.
RICA Class of 2023 relaxing at our house a week before graduation. August 1, 2023.Ryan and Alison after their wedding, along with Alice, Asher and Ben, in Cambridge Massachusetts. July 15, 2023.There are still occasional birds to photograph, though not many new species seen lately on campus. This Fish Eagle caught a tilapia for breakfast. July 2, 2023.Harvesting soybeans, RICA campus. The casual laborer is walking ahead of the combine watching for rocks to remove. June 29, 2023.Woodland Kingfisher, on the shore of Lake Gaharwa, RICA campus. July 2, 2023.Cinnamon-Chested Bee Eater near Musanze. August 13, 2023.Variable Sunbird (?) near Musanze. August 13, 2023.RICA Vice Chancellor residence, Kilimbi House. August 15, 2023.Sunrise over Lake Kilimbi. With no rain since early May, there is a lot of dust in the air, making for colorful sunrises. August 10, 2023.
Construction workers repair leaking waterproof lining on Muhazi House, a First Year student residence, on the campus of the Rwanda Institute for Conservation Agriculture (RICA). In the center in the background is an African Fish Eagle in a tree on the shore of Lake Kilimbi. A RICA center pivot irrigated field of soybean is on the hill in the background. April 29, 2023.A bumblebee preparing to land on a Senna Tree bloom on the RICA campus. April 10, 2023.
A Southern Red Bishop vocalizing early morning. Unfortunately the focus jumps in and out a bit, but hopefully the sound comes through, along with other birds in the background. RICA campus, April 29, 2023.
Monkeys on the RICA campus, with construction sound in the background. April 29, 2023.
RICA students practicing tractor driving – learning to back a trailer. April 29, 2023.Male Pin-Tailed Whydah – RICA campus. April 29, 2023.Common Waxbill, RICA campus. April 29, 2023.
A White-Browed Coucal, and Rueppell’s Starling, foraging and vocalizing late afternoon after a rain. At about 90 seconds in the video, the descending/ascending trill is the call of the White-Browed Coucal. April 29, 2023.
Visit to the Rwanda Institute for Conservation Agriculture (RICA) by President Kagame of Rwanda and President Ruto of Kenya. April 5, 2023.View over Lake Kilimbi from Kilimbi House, the new Vice Chancellor residence at RICA. April 2, 2023.A worker brings cabbages from the Vegetable and Fruit Enterprise fields to RICA’s cafeteria. March 29, 2023.RICA landscaping workers are gradually replacing landscape species in some areas of campus with plants that better protect against erosion and are easier to care for. Fields on the hill in the background are center-pivot irrigated, used for maize and soybean production. March 29, 2023.A RICA 3rd Year student presents her poster describing her capstone project to a faculty review team. 3rd Year students have completed one term of their internship with a host company in Rwanda. They will spend one more term in their internship placement before graduation in August. April 4, 2023.Black-headed Heron perched on an acacia tree, RICA campus. April 8, 2023.Southern Red Bishop. RICA campus. March 26, 2023.Evening rainbow over the RICA Howard G. Buffett Campus Center. April 4, 2023.
Overlooking Lake Kilimbi from the entrance roundabout for the Rwanda Institute for Conservation Agriculture (RICA). The Howard G. Buffett Campus Center is the building in the foreground. The village of Kayovu is on the hilltop across the lake. February 5, 2023.Using a RICA research plot combine as a stationary sheller for hand-harvested maize. February 11, 2023.Feeding maize ears into the combine. February 11, 2023.Unloading shelled maize grain at the RICA grain & feed center, where it will be cleaned and run through the dryer before storing in the bin. February 11, 2023.RICA students competing on the newly completed football pitch. February 5, 2023.Four-toed elephant shrew, brought to us by our cat Little Bit. Unfortunately she dispatched it before bringing it in, so it was not much fun to play with. March 1, 2023. Teresa and I on the patio of our home, Burera House, at RICA. March 4, 2023.Waiting in line to fill water jugs, Mwendo village near RICA. February 19, 2023.Yellow-billed ducks on Lake Gaharwa near RICA. March 11, 2023.Pied Kingfishers with a meal, perched on a papyrus branch on the shore of Lake Gaharwa near RICA. March 11, 2023.Learning to eat maize, RICA campus. March 4, 2023.View from my office door down the administrative wing of the RICA Campus Center.
Milking time – Kagasa village, near RICA. February 19, 2023.Children from Kayovu village watching activity at the newly completed RICA recreation center. February 12, 2023.Three-banded Plover, Lake Gaharwa. March 11, 2023.
Ants crossing the Peninsula Road, RICA. Lines of apparently millions of ants on the move are common. March 11, 2023.Hamerkop taking off from the shore of Lake Gaharwa. March 11, 2023.Bicycle taxi on the Peninsula Road through RICA. March 11, 2023.
KilimbiViews 