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ECOTOURISM AT KWANDWE, SOUTH AFRICA
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A victory for wise land management and conservation, Kwandwe Private Game Reserve is committed to CC Africa’s core principle: Care of the Land, Care of the Wildlife, Care of the People.
CC Africa’s focus: Community equity, income generation, education and health care are a primary concern. Managed by CC Africa, Kwandwe was established with an ambitious programme to restore 20 000 hectares (49 000 acres) of once degraded farmland to pristine wilderness condition and to restock it with game. Today, a diverse range of African wildlife, including elephant herds and the Big Five are once more at home in this fascinating reserve. In consultation with community organisations such as the Angus Gillis Foundation – a charitable trust that was created by co-owner Carl DeSantis to facilitate community development both within the Reserve and in the broader Eastern Cape communities – Kwandwe has contributed greatly to the empowerment and development of the local economy.
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KWANDWE COMMUNITY ACHIEVEMENTS – 2002/2003:
- Employment for 139 people from the local communities has been created
- Ongoing skills development and training
- Contractual work flowing into local communities includes: ZAR20 million worth of construction work commissioned, 2 000 kilometres of farm fencing removed, and 115 kilometres of game-fencing erected
- All wood for the lodges’ fireplaces is purchased from Working for Water projects, where alien vegetation is cleared by local communities who reap financial benefit
- A rubbish collection project involves bi-monthly cleaning of local villages with the village children who are taught to appreciate their contribution to improving their environment
- Pig Farming Project: Kwandwe’s kitchens provide pig feed to the community farmers
- Brick Making Project: Waste paper from the lodge is collected and then recycled into paraffin paper bricks which are then used by the lodge as firelighters
- Active Waste Management: All lodge waste is sorted, recycled where possible and removed from the Reserve
- Kwandwe Pre-Primary School was established in April 2002
- Balanced meals are supplied to the school children in the mornings and afternoons
- A vegetable garden programme is run by local residents and all produce is sold to the Lodges and other community members
- Craft project and Trading Store: Staff members have been trained in beadwork, sewing, woodwork, wirework and leatherwork, and earn income by selling their work to the Lodge's gift shops. Participants are not only encouraged to develop entrepreneurial skills but also to become aware of the environment by recycling commodities such as glass and wire
- Teaching aids, materials and continuous support is given to the Fort Brown Preparatory School situated just outside Kwandwe’s borders
- Expansion of Staff Village: Many of the project employees were already resident on the property when it was purchased. Their villages have been greatly upgraded with the provision of electricity and running water and the building of bathrooms onto each house
- The Angus Gillis Foundation is also active in the greater Eastern Cape Community; an exciting project is the ‘Agri-Village’ where a portion of the Kwandwe land has been set aside for ‘subsidised sale’ to the local municipality for it to donate back to the community. This will facilitate ownership and enable local communities to operate subsistence farms
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Ecotourism in Africa: Our guests play a critical role in helping CC Africa realise our dream and vision to create a model in wise land management, integrating international travellers and rural people to their mutual benefit and demonstrating that wildlife can be preserved on a sustainable basis by all.
Positive Health Programme:
CC Africa strongly believes in its people and was recently listed as one of three finalists in the Investor in People category of the 2005 Tourism for Tomorrow Awards. The October 2005 edition of Africa Geographic featured an article on AIDS and conversation, and highlighted the activities and
programmes that various African companies are implementing in order to increase AIDS awareness and, in doing so, empower the communities taking
care of some of the world's richest wilderness regions.
"Probably the most attractive program ... is that of CC Africa... CC Africa launched a Positive Health program in 2003 and in April and May last year ran two seven-day courses.... Their approach focuses on home-based care, gardens, counseling techniques and gender issues.... The health of the
habitat is critical to the health of the individuals in it.... The conservation industry is uniquely positioned to take the treatment of
HIV/AIDS in radically new directions.... Benefits [of the program] include acquiring 'hard skills' such as maintaining clean water, producing food, and home-based methods of dealing with illnesses that are not life threatening.... It takes only the will of ecologically minded people to make
sure that the wild places are not lost."
Africa Geographic, October 2005
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