About Us
About Us
Empowering Communities. Protecting the Rwenzori.
Our Story
The 6Summits Rwenzori Community Foundation was established to address a critical crisis unfolding in Western Uganda. The Rwenzori Mountains are a UNESCO World Heritage site and a vital water catchment for millions. Today, they are under immense threat. Rapid population growth, extreme poverty, and the devastating impacts of climate change (including rapid glacial melt and severe river flooding) have placed unprecedented pressure on both the landscape and the indigenous Bakonzo communities.
We recognized early on that traditional, exclusionary conservation methods fail when local people cannot feed their families or send their children to school. The Foundation was born from a fundamental belief: environmental protection must go hand-in-hand with economic empowerment.
Our Mission
To foster harmony between nature and communities by providing sustainable economic alternatives, climate education, and grassroots conservation initiatives in the Rwenzori region. We work to break the cycle of poverty that drives environmental degradation.
Our Vision
A resilient Rwenzori ecosystem where thriving, economically secure local communities act as the primary stewards of their natural heritage, free from extreme poverty and environmental vulnerability.
Our Core Values
Community-Led Action
We believe the most effective and lasting solutions come from within. We do not impose external ideas; instead, we listen to, partner with, and empower local voices to lead their own development.
Environmental Stewardship
Every program we design, whether agricultural or economic, is strictly evaluated on its ability to reduce pressure on the mountain’s fragile ecosystem.
Sustainable Empowerment
We do not believe in endless charity. Our goal is to build capacity, transfer skills, and establish self-sustaining livelihoods that allow communities to permanently break the cycle of poverty.
Transparency & Integrity
As a registered foundation, we operate with complete financial and operational accountability to our donors, our partners, and most importantly, the communities we serve.
Our Approach
We operate exclusively at the grassroots level. Instead of working from distant offices, we are on the ground in Kasese, partnering directly with local farmers, women’s micro-savings groups, and youth. Whether it is training farmers in shade-grown coffee, establishing apiaries, or mobilizing communities to plant indigenous trees along the fragile Nyamwamba riverbanks, our approach is holistic, practical, and deeply rooted in the realities of life on the mountain.