Logistics and Details of Visiting MUBFS
Logistics of Visiting
Everything you need to know about traveling to and living at the Field Station.
Hospitality We Offer:
One of the primary objectives of the field station is to host international and national field courses and training workshops. We are well set up to help you meet all your needs in this respect.
We can easily accommodate the accommodation and catering for courses ranging from 10 to 60 people. Our dormitories are set up to comfortably house students or people attending workshops. The rooms are set up with comfort and well-being in minds and mosquito nets are provided for each bed. We have toilets and shower facilities just a few meters away from the dormitories.
Our cooking facilities and experienced cooking staff can easily feed large groups, providing 3 meals a day, and coffee and snacks for break. We have a large cafeteria where meals are served buffet style and boiled, and suitably filtered/sanitized water is available at all times.
The Lecture Hall is set up to accommodate classes or workshops and we have projectors, etc. available, but since we do not have back-ups it can be handy to bring all you will need for the presentations (e.g., PowerPoint projectors, computer).
We have electricity and running water and a back up generator that can be run for short periods (e.g. for lectures). We encourage everyone to come with own flashlight or headlamp for use at night.
Getting to and from the Field Station:
One of the most difficult and nerve-wrecking aspects of foreign travel comes when you first enter a country you have never been to, you are exhausted after long travels, and you must find your own way to your destination. We are happy to help you out with in-country travel. We can make travel arrangements for single researchers or large course groups. If you arrive late at Entebbe airport, we can arrange hotel accommodation at a safe, reasonably priced hotel that offers airport pickup and we can have you picked up for the trip to Kibale the next morning and transport to the field station that is only about a 40-minutes drive from the town of Fort Portal (see the Map)
To arrange in-country travel and accommodations please contact Dr. Patrick Omeja (OmejaP@Yahoo.com) who can help you out and determine the costs.
Fees:
We understand that research and field courses are often run on tight budgets and we try to keep our prices low so that more research and training can take place at the field station. We hope that some of the research and course work will be directed towards conservation and working with the local people, so we take a strategy of encouraging more people to come to MUBFS, rather than charging high prices. The fee structure is in the attached “Current Fee Structure” file below.
Research Clearance and Fees:
MUBFS is extremely fortunate to be within Kibale National Park, with its amazing biodiversity, rich habitats, and close proximity to local communities. Kibale is run by the Uganda Wildlife Authority and as a national park researchers and courses must obtain permission to work in the area. For the safety of the local communities that UWA works with, research clearance is also required if you are working on the neighboring communities – it is also just the right thing to do and they can help you not make some serious blunders.
UWA and MUBFS have been great partners and we have helped each other in many ways, and we are very careful to protect that relationship and make sure people follow the very reasonable rules and fees UWA has set.
You can find out more about UWA at https://www.ugandawildlife.org/ . To ensure that the research conducted in or near the park is appropriate and does not harm any of the park’s endangered species, researcher must apply for research clearance. We have attached the latest forms to this page, but please go to their webpage for the latest information. https://www.ugandawildlife.org/phocadownload/ResearchMonitoring/Research-Application-Form.pdf
There are also very reasonable research fees that need to be paid. This is the current fee structure and breakdown, but again please go to the UWA page for the latest.
Finally, as in most countries, research must be cleared at the national level and forms can be found at https://www.uncst.go.ug/guidelines-and-forms/ In case the link is down, here are the forms, but make sure you get the latest RS6, RC1, Clearance Process.
The applications must be done PRIOR to you arriving to conduct research and we suggest that you get your applications in 6 months prior to your intended arrival. Getting your forms through the various levels and arranging payment can be difficult when you do not know the system, so we can help. If you want help, please contact Dr. Patrick Omeja (OmejaP@yahoo.com) and he can help, give you instructions, and tell you about the costs of us facilitating the processing of your application.
Cooks and Groceries:
We try to make things easy for people, so for researchers we can arrange for a local cook to help out with preparing your meals and helping you out (e.g., doing washing, basic house cleaning). You will also need to get to town (Fort Portal) to get foods or you can send a list to town with funds and someone can pick you up food. Again, Patrick Omeja can set this up for you, so please contact him directly (OmejaP@yahoo.com).
Packing List:
Researchers and students on courses often ask us what they should bring in terms of basic clothing and toiletry. Everyone has different needs, so this is a hard request to meet. However, a female graduate student of mine made a list of suggested items that might be helpful. The list can be found here Packing List. You can pick up bed sheets (for courses these are provided), and towels in Fort Portal, and we suggest you get them as you come into the park. If Dr. Patrick Omeja makes your travel arrangement to get to the field station, a stop in town is easy to arrange.
Map Showing Kibale, Fort Portal, and Kampala:
