Ishanyu Homestead

 Ishanyu Homestead

‘Ishanyu’ (which means happiness) is a family farm of pastoralists. The homestead depicts the culture of the legendary Ankole long horned cow which dates back 700 years. Here, guests enjoy traditional cattle activities still practiced by the Bahima. While in recent years many farmers have changed from herding traditional cows to exotic ones, at Ishanyu the main focus is still on the traditional Ankole long horned cow.

Location

Ishanyu Homestead is 3 hours away from Kampala, 4 kilometers from Mbarara Municipality on the highway to Fort Portal and Queen Elizabeth, Rwenzori, Semliki and Kibale National Parks.

  Host Family

Katanywa Family

Your hosts at Ishanyu Homestead are the Katanywa family: Mama Mary, her son Steven, and his family. The highlight of this homestead visit is the unique traditional hut which houses the milk platform known as “orugyegye” where the milk pots and accessories are kept. This is the central place of every traditional pastoralist homestead. Homestead guests can taste milk or Ankole Yoghurt, “amakamo” stored in high quality shiny black wooden milk pots (ebyanzi), and calabashes (ebishabo). Mama Mary Katanywa, the family matriarch is always at hand to welcome visitors to her home and, through an interpreter, give a lecture on the culture of the Ankole long horned cow. Visitors can also participate in milking.