Uganda came to Washington through coffee, barkcloth, food, music and stories of a country where snow-covered mountains rise close to the Equator.
At the Embassy of the Republic of Uganda in Washington, D.C., an afternoon devoted to Ugandan culture and tourism gave visitors a closer look at a country many know principally for its wildlife and Winston Churchill’s enduring description, “The Pearl of Africa.”
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Under white tents in the Embassy garden, DJ Kosea Hindi, a native of Uganda, played Ugandan classics including Tugenda Mu Afrigo, Born in Africa and Munakyalo. Some guests danced while others moved between food and cultural displays.
Embassy Chef Brenda Johnson prepared matooke with peanut sauce, beef stew, spiced rice, chapati, bean stew, mandazi and kahunga-posho. Ugandan coffee and tea were also available.
One display drew particular interest. It featured olubugo, the traditional Ugandan barkcloth made from the inner bark of the Mutuba fig tree.
Producing the cloth does not require cutting down the tree. The bark is harvested, steamed or soaked and repeatedly beaten with wooden mallets until it becomes soft and flexible. The tree subsequently regenerates its bark.
The practice is closely associated with the Baganda people of southern Uganda and dates from well before modern textile production. UNESCO inscribed Barkcloth Making in Uganda on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2008.
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Barkcloth has historically been used for clothing, furnishings and ceremonial purposes, including traditions associated with royalty and chiefs. Ugandan artisans and designers have also found contemporary applications for the material in fashion, accessories and interior design.
Products fashioned from barkcloth were displayed alongside polished cow horns and other handcrafted pieces. For visitors seeing the material for the first time, the exhibit offered an introduction to a Ugandan tradition that has survived changes in fashion, industry and daily life.
From Churchill to Today’s Traveler
H.E. Katureebe P. Tayebwa welcomed guests on behalf of the Embassy and its Head of Mission, H.E. Ambassador Robie Kakonge, Uganda’s Ambassador to the United States. The Embassy continues to identify Ambassador Kakonge as its Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary.
Tayebwa reached into history to make the case for visiting Uganda, invoking Winston Churchill and Theodore Roosevelt, two prominent figures whose journeys through East Africa left extensive written and scientific records.
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Churchill traveled through East Africa in 1907 and published My African Journey the following year. His descriptions of Uganda’s fertile land and varied scenery helped popularize the country’s enduring nickname, “The Pearl of Africa.”
Former U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt traveled through East Africa during the Smithsonian-Roosevelt African Expedition of 1909–1910. Accompanied by his son Kermit and a team of naturalists, Roosevelt participated in an expedition that assembled a large scientific collection for the Smithsonian Institution.
Tayebwa drew on those journeys while encouraging Americans to see present-day Uganda for themselves.
His description ranged from the Rwenzori Mountains, whose highest peaks rise close to the Equator, to forests inhabited by endangered mountain gorillas. Uganda’s lakes, waterfalls, forests and savannas support elephants, lions, chimpanzees, hippos, giraffes and numerous bird species, including the grey crowned crane.
Jinja, on the shores of Lake Victoria, is also associated with the source of the White Nile and remains one of Uganda’s best-known tourism destinations.
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Tayebwa soon moved from geography to one of Uganda’s most important exports. Holding up a packet of Ugandan coffee, he encouraged guests to try it and showed how easily it could be prepared.
Coffee occupies an important place in Uganda’s economy, supporting farmers, exporters and communities whose livelihoods are connected to its production and sale. At the Embassy, visitors encountered that industry first through taste and then through conversation.
The relationship between culture and commerce could also be seen in the barkcloth display. A centuries-old textile tradition now has applications in fashion and sustainable design. Uganda’s cultural performances and natural attractions similarly support a tourism industry with economic importance to communities across the country.
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Tourism promotion is also part of the Embassy’s wider work in the United States. In 2025, the Embassy hosted American tour operators on an eight-day familiarization trip across Uganda that included Queen Elizabeth National Park, the Kazinga Channel and gorilla trekking in Kisoro.
Music, Dance and a Ugandan Welcome
Young performers dressed in Ugandan attire added music and dance to the afternoon. Their performance drew guests toward the stage, where many recorded the dancing on their phones.
Hospitality was equally prominent. Guests heard the Swahili greeting “Karibu,” meaning welcome, and “Karibu sana,” or you are most welcome.
Tayebwa joked that a visitor arriving in Uganda hungry would be given food and someone arriving thirsty would be offered a drink. Around the garden, guests were already sampling the hospitality he described.
Uganda Waragi was among the beverages available. Visitors spoke with exhibitors, examined textiles and crafts, watched the performers and learned about travel to Uganda.
A travel advisor attending the event was invited forward, prompting an impromptu exchange about bringing travelers to the country. Tayebwa encouraged guests to consider visiting Uganda and returning with their own accounts of what they had experienced.
The invitation gave the cultural presentation a practical purpose. Visitors had already sampled some of the food, music and products that the Embassy hoped would encourage further interest in Uganda.
Beyond the Pearl of Africa
Churchill’s “Pearl of Africa” description remains familiar shorthand for Uganda’s natural beauty, but the Embassy’s presentation offered a broader view of the country.
Barkcloth introduced an indigenous textile tradition with contemporary commercial uses. Coffee connected Ugandan agriculture with consumers abroad. Music and dance introduced cultural traditions to people who may never have visited East Africa. Discussions about tourism placed the Rwenzori Mountains, the Nile, wildlife and Uganda’s lakes before potential American travelers.
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These areas also carry economic importance for Uganda. The Embassy identifies trade, investment and tourism among the opportunities it seeks to advance through its work in the United States.
By the end of the afternoon, some guests carried Ugandan coffee. Others had photographs of the dancers or had handled barkcloth for the first time. Conversations ranged from travel and wildlife to food, fashion and trade.
Churchill’s description has followed Uganda for more than a century. The afternoon in Washington offered another view, one presented by Ugandans themselves through their food, music, craftsmanship, landscapes and hospitality.
For those who arrived knowing Uganda principally as the “Pearl of Africa,” there was considerably more to take home.