7 Reasons Why You Should Support The Locals
1. The money you spend ends up in the right pocket
It’s not always a rule, but in most cases, if you stay in a local guest house, smaller boutique hotel, or an apartment run by a native, the chances your money will arrive in the hands of a local owner are considerably higher than if your accommodation is booked via travel agent in your home country, or if you stay in a big famous chain hotel run by a foreigner with imported staff.
The money you pay for your lunch cooked by an experienced street vendor or for your breakfast in an artisan restaurant will not get lost in a corporate chain store.
2. You’ll make locals feel unique.
In developing countries particularly, travelers tend to feel they can “occupy” the territory they visit simply because they come from a country where they use a flush toilet;
Also, in countries where locals see cameras as a “powerful weapon,” it’s easy to treat people as if they were just some phenomenal object needed for documenting social media lives.
There is nothing wrong with taking a photo of a local, if he/she is fine with that. The problem is how to do it and why we’re doing it in the first place. Asking permission is a basic rule, and even if you don’t speak the same language, pointing your finger to your camera with a question mark in your eyes can be easily understood.
3. You’ll get to places that guidebooks don’t tell you about.
Secret gems are secret for a reason: hiking via less walked paths, finding places where only locals eat, walking empty streets in an otherwise overwhelmingly crowded city is much easier with a person who has grown up in the area or has lived there long enough to know about less known local “jewels.“
Guidebooks can give you some helpful tips, but they can rarely guarantee you’ll end up in; ‘Bufundas’ where only locals go for meals, The ‘katale’ where locals do their shopping, Wandegeya TV Chicken restaurants where locals come to enjoy chicken.
4. You’ll learn about new culture (if you are lucky, also about politics) first hand.
It’s possible to get lots of information from online articles, videos or podcasts, but experiencing a sacred Baganda ritual in Uganda; watching the way people prepare a local meal; or understanding why the Kalangala islanders like drinking concentrated local brew… these things you can do only with a native who is willing to show you the process, explain the details and encourage you to try it yourself.
5. You’ll get home from your trip with not just souvenirs, but memories.
What would you remember more…? Singing & drumming with the Ankole Cultural Group in Mbarara, watching a Ugandan comedian in action, seeing the working tools of a village blacksmith, Ugandan young artists performing one of the best shows of your life… or three similar t-shirts you’ll never wear, ceramic magnets that will break in your luggage, and several bracelets your friends will be ashamed to wear anyway? Make your trip valuable through things you learn and experience within local communities.
6. Language exchange
Locals are always pleased when they hear you speak some basic phrases in their language. There are many of them however, who would love to practice English (or any other language you’re good at) when visiting them.
Having a friendly chat with locals eager to practice the language you speak fluently is the minimum you can give back for learning about their native country.
Besides, many times a patient foreigner who knows how to listen and correct in a friendly way, can make a big difference and support a local in speaking the language he/she is afraid of to use.
7. You spend less
Eating street food and doing your shopping from local markets in Jinja can be cheaper than dining in restaurants, but it might be the opposite in some areas, where small local groceries have higher prices compared to big supermarkets.
On the other hand, products from a local retail, local canteen, or veggie shop or restaurants where they prepare only a few dishes, are very often tastier and contain fresher and higher quality ingredients.
Consider your daily budget while traveling, but prefer to spend a bit more in a local shop rather than queuing in an anonymous supermarket whenever possible.
#AuthenticUgandanExperience #iloveculture
Book Your Ugandan Experience today! www.authenticugandanexperience.com
