Our Story

Murchison Falls National Park is Uganda’s largest, oldest, and most visited national park.

Despite this, communities around the park remain some of the poorest in the country, which has led to high levels of poaching across the landscape. Snares to Wares was created to offer a different path, reducing reliance on poaching and uplifting local communities.

Who we are

We are a community-based conservation initiative working in partnership with Uganda Wildlife Authority.

Together, we remove illegal wire snares from the park and recycle them into art. This initiative supports local artisans with income and training.

What started as one artisan group in Pakwach (the northern gateway town to the national park) has expanded into three groups across the region.

“I’ve been a member of Snares to Wares since 2015 and being part of the project has enabled me to improve my livelihood greatly. Through money from the project- I’ve been able to open up my own business, buy my own land, and even travel to the USA to work on a life-sized lion sculpture for Detroit Zoo.”

Settler Charles, Lead Artisan, Pakwach Group

Take a look at these images below outlining some of the team and artisans at work.