8400 Hectares

Limpopo

Core Operations‍

• Accommodation
• Ecotourism activities
• Cultural and traditional activities

Activities‍

Magwena River Lodge is a luxury lodge with 16 beds, camping and catering services.

Selwane Game Reserve comprises 4 100 ha of land and Magwena River Lodge are located in close proximity to the popular Kruger National Park.

Selwane is a critical Biodiversity Conservation Area with vast wildlife and a temperate savanna climate with unique bird and plant life.

The Restitution of Land Rights Act which was promulgated in 1994 activated the first land claim which was lodged by the Selwane tribe during 1996 and the farms Kondowe 36 and Waterbok were successfully transferred and are now being administered by the Selwane Communal Property Association. Kondowe is currently a game farm development and Waterbok is a community irrigation development project.

After reclaiming the land, the community decided to venture into eco-tourism and approached various stakeholders to assist as the community did not have the finances and knowledge to drive it.

The community partnered with SIABIX, a private investment company with various interests in the abattoir and meat industry to develop and operate Selwane Nature Reserve and Magwena River Lodge, based on a shareholders’ agreement in terms of which the strategic partner holds 49% and the CPA owns the balance. Three of the CPA members are directors in the operating company.

In the future Selwane aims to:

• Add a conference centre to host corporate events.
• Add over 2000 ha in additional farms. This additional land would be used to develop a conservancy for rhinos and other game.
• Introduce cattle ranching as a strategic priority for the site.
• To purchase additional game to increase the attractiveness to potential tourists. The target is to acquire: 15 Buffalo, 13 Zebra, 50 Impala, 28 Springboks and 25 Elands. Elephants will not be pursued due to a lack of land.

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26000 Hectares

KwaZulu-Natal

Activities

Big 5 Game Reserve used for Game safaris and hunting activities.
Unprocessed game meat is sold at farm gate.

Activities

The Site operational 6-unit lodge facilities with 12 beds, and camping facilities.
Birding, walking trails, and hiking are available.

The site is a BIG-5 game reserve offering a wide range of wildlife species (including, elephants, rhino, lions, leopards, buffalo, eland, kudu, gemsbok, waterbuck, wildebeest, impala and wild dog). Trophy and Biltong hunting are the major business activity, with the hunters also patronising accommodation and hospitality services offered through the 12-bed lodge and camping facility. Birding, walking trails, and hiking are also popular.

The Site has endangered species such as the wild dog, under a special protection program, with considerable investment being made into game stocking and fencing over the years and more game donations are still being canvassed.

At least 10% of all tourism revenue from the reserve, is transferred to the Gumbi community of approximately 20,000 people through the ECT, which allocates the funds for schools, creches,

clinics, cattle dipping programmes, and small-business opportunities.

The reserve currently employs 52 people from the community, all on short-term contracts, for such activities as alien bush clearing, are taken up by the community. The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment also funds salaries of game guards through its Environmental Monitors Programme.Unprocessed game meat is currently sold at the farm-gate, at significantly lower unit prices than the retail market prices for processed and packaged game meat. Great potential for revenue growth and community development lies in the development of a through-put abattoir with distribution linkages at the retail end.

An old butchery with cold room facilities requiring upgrade and restoration exists at the site and can potentially be converted into a game meat processing plant with dual capacity to process both game meat and beef (and perhaps other commercial livestock), in order to optimise capacity utilisation.

Taxidermy, tanning and crafting of leather products are natural offshoot businesses that have been considered.

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14200 Hectares

Limpopo

Core Operations‍

• Harvesting
  
  

Activities‍

Mopani worms are harvested when in season.

Core Operations‍

• Accommodation
• Safaris

Activities‍

Ndou Safaris and Baobab Lodge are high-end luxury lodges targeting international and local hunting customers and other tourists. Klipspringer Lodge is a budget facility targeting local tourism and business visitors connected to the mining industry in the area.
A catering service is available for guests.
Camping and game drives are available to guests.

In 1998, the TSHIVHULA community embarked on a journey towards restitution of lost land - a process that has begun to yield results. To date, land in excess of 20,000 hectares has been restored to the people of Tshivhula, and is owned through a Communal Property Association. With the support of our partners, the transformation journey our people have embarked on will impact the socio-economic standing of the Tshivhula community and protect the natural resources.

A new bioprospecting industry in the northern province of Limpopo is emerging. Actors have focused on systematic modification of traditional uses of commonly available natural resources (such as Bulbine, Aloe Vera, the Marula fruit, bee products, and Mopani worms), for commercial or industrial value. Tshivhula will establish a bio-industrial facility located near the proposed Cultural Village to produce, trade and export indigenous products, such as medicines, industrial enzymes, food flavours, fragrances, cosmetics, colours, extracts and essential oils.  

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