Updates
Update: July 2011
Lobbying for the rehabilitation of infrastructure has been intense and ongoing. This has resulted in the grading and rehabilitation of a 40km-long main road, improving transport access for both people and agricultural products.
The economic empowerment groups continue to develop partnerships with service providers, including a company that will supply 60,000 tree seedlings for planting and another that supplies cost effective solar panels. With solar panels, people can now charge their phones at home, reduce the cost of lighting and also ensure that their children have a reliable source of light for study.
New marketable products have also been identified in the community and support for product marketing is ongoing. Following a business skills training course, individual community members have started up a kiosk and several other business enterprises.
Update: September 2010
Two Economic Empowerment at Work committees have been established by community members who are motivated to drive change and improve economic conditions in their locality. They meet regularly to strategise on economic development issues and carry out planned activities.
The Business Facilitator mentors and supports the two committees with business expertise and market information.
Thirteen new and expanded businesses have emerged. These include kiosks, grocery businesses, mills, farming businesses, tree nurseries, and bead making businesses. Marketable products such as sisal fibre have been identified for possible business ventures and support for the commercialisation of products is ongoing.
Gaining access to profitable markets has been a challenge in the community. So, a sub-committee with the mandate to link sellers to markets has been established and it is doing well. This has enabled around 18 producers to sell their products at a profitable price. One of the committees is collectively marketing produce such as butternuts.
Lobbying authorities for roads rehabilitation continues. Committee members are making roads on their own farms as well as opening up feeder roads to join the main road. This will enable farmers to transport their products to nearby markets. Digging of water pans is ongoing, with over 98 pans dug so far.
Finance sub-committees have been formed and they are helping to improve access to finance; relationships with banks and microfinance institutions have been strengthened. A mobile bank has opened, providing the trading community with access to savings facilities and small loans.
Partnerships with other business and community groups have been enhanced. Good relationships exist between the local committees and horticultural development authorities, as well as wholesale buyers of farm produce in nearby markets.
Update: March 2010
The economic empowerment groups have successfully lobbied the government to have access roads graded and around 150 volunteers worked together to reopen over 100km of feeder roads to remote parts of the community.
To address acute water needs, the local water sub-committee has overseen the excavation of 70 water pans and small dams. Financial contributions from community members also paid for the use of a council bulldozer to dig another two large dams.
The community recently negotiated with the Department of Forestry to take over a disused plant nursery and has secured seeds to propagate 3 million seedlings.