Bio-diversity

The proposed project area is in northern Venda, a remote rural area of Limpopo Province - more specifically the northern sections of Thulamela and Mutale municipal districts. The population of Mutale District Municipality is just over 100,000 people, of which 59% are women. Of these, 86% are unemployed. Education levels are low, with 33% of women and 14% of men having never been to school. The proposed project area is semi-arid, characterised by a high density of people and livestock, thus attempts at subsistence agriculture result in very inconsistent and at best, low yields. Furthermore, livestock overstocking has led to widespread over-grazing and general degradation of the environment. There are few industries in the area, thus livelihood diversification opportunities are extremely limited. Initiated by a locally based company, the commercial harvesting of baobab fruit in the proposed project area began in 2006 and by 2010 over 1,500 harvesters where involved (mostly unemployed rural women). Fruit is collected from trees in the communal lands, fields and villages by people (mainly unemployed women). The fruit is processed in situ and sold to the locally based company that makes oil from the seeds and packages the fruit pulp. The resulting products are sold to the cosmetic and food ingredients markets. In addition, the largest baobab tree in the world is located in this area, making it an area of interest for tourists visiting the province The proposed project will develop an innovative approach to biodiversity conservation and poverty alleviation with agri-tourism as the underlying mechanism for improving the livelihoods of 50 members of a network of 1,500 rural women in Limpopo province. Agri-tourism is defined as tourism that is based on any type of agricultural experience and can include farm-stays, tourist participation in harvesting and agro-processing activities and the purchase of agricultural/natural products. Demand for agri-tourism is increasing globally along with demand for authentic experiential travel and community-based tourism. Project objectives 1. Build capacity of 50 members of a network of 1,500 small-scale black female rural producers to offer services to tourists, leading to income diversification and stronger rationale for conserving baobab resources; 2. Expand the scope of the growing Fair Trade Tourism initiative to historically disadvantaged communities who are primarily engaged in agricultural production; and 3. Diversify the tourism product offering of South Africa, in particular Limpopo Province, to include market-ready forms of rural tourism that are environmentally and socially responsible.

South africa