The idea behind Mukisa’s camp

The fresh air and silence that nature offers sooth and relieve burnout. It also allows you reflect on yourself and your surroundings.
Nature sounds with animals like birds chirping in addition to melodious sounds of wind blowing in the woods are all extremely relaxing and refreshing.

“As a family, we are blessed to have a shared gift which is our passionate love for the green environment and anything that goes with it.”
“Natural gifts are the golden resource that God gives everyone so that we use them to build lasting investments and services for the benefit of humanity and ourselves,” she says when interviewed for this article.

You have to love nature to earn from it and not the other way round. This is the mantra Ms Mukisa is living by.
Those who are in it for the money, tend to end up destroying the breathtaking sights and sounds of nature rather than harnessing and preserving them for generations to come.

For Ms Mukisa and her family, it is the love for preservation of Mother Nature that supersedes all other interests.
“There is nothing as exciting as building a future in an area that you love. Whatever you do ceases to be work that is money driven. It is fun that flows spontaneously, a vision you fly with and use to set your world on fire,” she tells Prosper Magazine.

She continues: “Output will be good enough to earn you a living.”
Motivation for the natural campsite
Camp Besania sits on nearly 20 acres of land. It could have been used for any other purpose. But because of Ms Mukisa passion for conservation, it was easy to turn it into a campsite for nature lovers.

“Conservation was the best option and it is a worthwhile investment.”
For her age, it is a wiser investment for it draws people around regularly as she aptly puts it: “The camping and conservation services are likely to draw people to us all the time, giving us an endless opportunity to be happy as we serve humanity.”
When asked whether investing in nature is a worthwhile venture, she respond, “Very much so, because it makes us happy. It takes away a lot of stress and that is important.”

First, she argues that it righteous do so. She strongly believes that gave human beings nature to steward. In doing so, guard it jealously because of the benefits it provides to mankind. In return, the human race has a responsibility to keep the environment intact as it was handed down to them. Conserving or restoring a forest is a much cheaper and far better option than planting a new one.

Campsites such as Besania, with its numerous species, is a demonstration of how private land owners can add a significant signature to conservation efforts.
“It de-constructs the apparent belief that we can only earn from trees by cutting them. Yet there are numerous projects one can do within a conserved environment,” she says.

Investment, customers
Although Ms Mukisa generates some money from the camp, she says it is hard to put a figure to this project that started as a family hobby.
The camp is frequented mainly by families and groups of devout believers whose objective is prayer, relaxing, meditating and in some cases training.

Training camps for teenagers has also been a fixture. The teens are taken through holy scriptures, entrepreneurship, and importance of emotional intelligence.
The December to January holiday attracts the biggest number of campers especially school goers.

Charges
“Guests from the community pay Shs5,000 for a day’s visit. Others pay Shs10,000 only. This covers costs such as utilities and maintenance. Meals are provided on request and self-catering is also allowed,” she says.