Tourism

Tourism

The Indlovu Project’s main tourist attraction would be its community centre. The community centre will offer several services to the community, but will also provide a place for visitors to come and have fun while learning about African, and Xhosa way of life.

The community centre will offer a shop to tourists that has items from African culture.  Many of the items in the shop will be made from the local community members in hopes of bringing money to the community, and income to the Indlovu Project. Also, the community centre will bring fun and enjoyment to tourists as it will provide a spacious environment for a traditional Xhosa dance and meal. Besides the community centre, Monwabisi Park itself is a tourist attraction as an informal settlement.  From tours of the park, people will have an eye opening experience of what living an informal settlement is like.

By creating a strong atmosphere within the community and an enjoyable experience for tourists, the Indlovu Project and the community could benefit financially from tourism.  Through the cost of visiting the Indlovu Project, purchasing crafts from the shop, or getting your picture taken, income is generated for both the Indlovu Project and the community.

Guga S’Thebe

The entrance to Guga S'Thebe

The entrance to Guga S'Thebe

Our sponsor, Di Womersley, took us as a team to visit Guga S’Thebe, a location which offers tours of informal settlements as well as craft workshops to provide employment. We interviewed a tour guide there to try to gain a better understanding of tourism in informal settlements. He said they provide walking tours to the settlements around Guga S’Thebe for about 25 tourists per week for a small fee. To learn more about our day excursion with our sponsor, click here.

Hopes for the Future

Although our team was not able to explore tourism further while we were here due to the incomplete community centre, we brainstormed ways of incorporating tourism into the Indlovu Project’s income generation for the future. One idea that was raised was a weekly tour within the settlement. The community centre can hold about 50 people. A tour group could visit each Saturday, take a walking tour of the settlement, and then head back to the project for a traditional African meal and entertainment. The meal could be cooked by a cooperative of women from the community, so instead of just a few people earning money from the endeavour, many families could benefit. The entertainment could consist of several different acts, such as a traditional African dance, African music, or even elders reciting traditional African stories.

In order to implement this idea, different tour companies would need to be contacted until we found one willing to work with us. We would need to discuss pricing with them, which would change according to transportation costs. Price could range anywhere from R300-R400 for the full day and a large portion of that would go back to the Indlovu Project and community members.