Jezioro Kiwu w Rwandzie - Redux

Portrait of Laurence Mukashema, 38, along Lake Kivu, Rwanda, on November 16, 2023. Laurence is head of the Twibanire fishing cooperative, which means “let’s live together.” The cooperative helps women buy nets and supports their entrance into fishing, which earns them on average three times more than when they used to farm. Here, women form an essential part of the national market for Lake Kivu fish. The intense physical work and danger that comes with fishing on Lake Kivu, along with reinforcement from traditional gender roles, kept women from fishing for generations. But in post-genocide Rwanda, that seems to be changing. The breathtaking beauty of Lake Kivu, resting between the volcanoes and steep hills of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda, is exceeded only by its mercurial temperament. A clear sunny day can turn to a tropical downpour in minutes, before the sun beats down again. The lake’s still waters also hide another face: dissolved within are billions of cubic meters of flammable methane and more still of carbon dioxide, presenting both a source of power and a danger to hundreds of thousands of people living around the lake. The lake holds haunting memories from the 1994 genocide, but also offered a lifesaving escape to some. Its glassy surface is dotted with hundreds of islands, all of which have their own particularities and histories.