Efforts will be made to ensure that the activities are carried out within the set budget. Project activities would be made to coincide with usual KCS activities in the area to cut down the costs. Also the students who are to be sent for training at tertiary institutions will be asked to find accomodation with relatives to cut on costs.
Gender mainstreaming in the project will play a very important role in the success of the project. Women are targeted through all the interventions that the project will be using to mitigate effects of poverty in the community. Of the two that will be trained, 50% will be women and they are also the main producers of crafts thus will benefit more from the project.
Planning non gef grant
The BTO are facilitating the shifting from consumptive to non- consumptive tourism. There are plans to build a lodge near the hills and diversify the product. There will be also a need to provide accommodation facilities by for the community guides near the gate house.
Policy Influence
The Community Based Natural Resources Management (CBNRM) policy advocates for community participation in the management of natural resources for co-management and livelihoods improvement. The Trust collaborated with various stakeholders to develop a management plan to develop environmentally friendly activities that could promote conservation and benefit the community at large. Xaixai village has the Gchwihaba caves nearby and this is an Assert and it?s befitting that livelihood improvement of the community through eco-tourism as pertaining to the CBNRM policy.
With the shifting from consumptive to non-consumptive tourism in the area, the facilities provides the necessary look and feel product that can attract the necessary tourists and get proper services It is also envisaged that results from this project which will go a long way in giving evidence and reason why CBNRM should be supported be it by finances and or legislation that will make it not just reality, but also a lifestyle.
Project sustainability
The Kalahari Conservation Society has continued to support the programme as funding was sought from Stanbick bank to reticulate water to the ablution blocks and the gate house. This has made the facilities operational and both the Botswana Tourism Organization and the Museum have indicated interest in partnering with the community to operate the gate house. The Museum has secured two (2) computers for the gate house and these will be jointly shared with the community to monitor and manage tourist?s visitations.
The Museum has full time staff based closed to the gate house and they have undertaken to man the gate in the absence of community members, who resides 30km from the facilities. However plans are underway to accommodate the community guides and a book keeper on site.
It is also important to note that the facilities supports tourism activities at Gchwihaba caves and as they are of archaeological and environmental importance to the country, they will always be in existence under strict conservation regulations hence the facilities will be needed perpetually.
Notable Community Participation
The community will effectively participate in this project through various activities. They will be engaged in the building of the cultural village. This will be part of contribution of the community to the project. The community will also be engaged during the selection of the community escort guides as well as the trainees for the book keeping courses. The trust will also provide transport to the guides as well as logistical support to the project.
Linkages gef projects
The mainstreaming of biodiversity conservation is todays phenomena and is a very broad and important issue within environmental discussion, they are a lot of potential large GEF projects to come out from this basis and management of natural resources more those that are shared across borders has been the base of GEF and all of this is what this project is driving even though at a small scale so this opens up linkages to all possible future projects including potential large GEF projects.
Emphasis on Sustainable Livelihoods
The project encourages communities to effectively participate in the developments that are occuring in their village. By so doing, communities will be able to operate their business ventures in a sound and profitable way. By engaging the community and helping them to resuscitate their business ventures such as local craft making the livelihoods will be uplifted.
Capacity - Building Component
The project has a capacity building component to train Community Escort Guides who will guide the tourists at the caves. Also the training of the Book Keepers who will be responsible for the day to day running of the tourism enterprises will further build the capacity of the community.
The curio shop which will be sited at the caves will also provide an opportunity for the craft makers within the village to start practising again. Since these skills are mainly known by the elderly in the village, this will provide an opportunity for them to pass the skills to youth in the community.
Policy Impact
The project will serve as a case study for the other CBOs on how a community can diversify their CBNRM ventures. Most CBOs especially in the North-West are based on hunting quotas and with the advent of the 65%/35% sharing of profits between government and CBOs, their operations are bound to suffer. Thus there is an expectation that some of the CBOs will try to diverse to other forms of tourism. The CCTT will therefore provide a relevant case study on which other communities will model their transitions. This will contribute towards strengthening the ongoing review of the CBNRM policy and guidelines.
Significant Participation of Indigenous Peoples
The reisdents of Cgaecgae are largely people of San and Herero origin. The said gropus are the beneficiaries and implementors of the project. The envisage traditional village will be used to showcase and allow tourists to experience the way of life of both the San and Herero people.
Replication of project activities
There are chances that the project activities could be replicated in future as the management plan proposed another gate house on the side of Xaixai village. There are fears that some tourism may avoid reporting to the gate house and due to lack of transport to patrol the sides, live without paying. To this end, another gate house remains ideal and this will further be reinforced if there would be enough revenues collected through the entrance gate.
Planning gef grant
There are prospects for more activities but through the Botswana Tourism organization, it has been difficult to secure an investor to build and operate a lodge in the area to test photographic tourism potential. Therefore the Trust may request from the construction of another gate hose and a lodge.
Promoting Public Awareness of Global Environment
With the exception of wild animals that have been sold to hunters, the community has not been exposed to the importance of other natural resources in the area. However through this project they will start benefitting from other natural resources in the area. They will be made to appreciate the hills as sn ecotourism commodity that could be harnessed for improving their livelihoods.
Project Results
Activities Performed under this Agreement:
? Construction of the gate house with curio shop, office and lounge
? Building of the three campsites with braai places at the caves
? Building capacity of the locals by training tour guides and book keepers.
? Re- equipment of the Boreholes
? Procurement of a solar home system, a laptop computer and 3G modems for internet access.
Results:
Describe to what extent the objectives of the Agreement were accomplished:
Activity 1: - Construction of the gate house, ablution block and three campsites at the caves
The Construction of the gate house, the ablution blocks, curio shop, campsites with braai stands, the office and the installation of solar panel to provide electricity were completed and have been inspected by the client, beneficiary and the cooperating partner, GEF/SGP. The water reticulation from the borehole to the gate house and ablution has also been concluded.
The contractor had opportunity to utilize man power from the Draught Relief (Ipelegeng) Programme so as to bring down the costs of the project. The Draught Relief (Ipelegeng) Programme engaged labour from the community and they were being ferried to the site on a daily basis from the village by the Department of Museums and art Gallery.
Activity 2: - Capacity building
The Capacity building component of the project which focused on Book keeping and Professional Guiding was also completed and done by a training institution called, Career Dreams Center. The training was successful as six (6) professional guides and two (2) book keepers were trained. Still on capacity building a solar home system, a laptop computer and 3G modems for internet access were bought to support the
Activity 3: - Borehole re-equipment
The borehole drilling and equipping component was a project under Ministry of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism through Community Trust Fund (CTF) with co-financing from the community. The tender for drilling boreholes was awarded to De Wet Drilling Company. Of the three spots which identified NG 4, the project managed to successfully drill and equip two boreholes. Unfortunately the panels were stolen within two months of installation and a decision was made by stakeholders to bolster the security of the equipment. However the CTF funds were depleted and a request was made to GEF/SGP and the Botswana Tourism Organisation to cover costs for replacing the panels and this was successful. The panels were replaced and the boreholes are pumping again.
Describe the immediate benefits received by the participants and/or the recipient communities:
? Community members gained knowledge as six (6) professional guides and two (2) book keepers were trained and these are members of the local community.
? The community has gained infrastructural development as the project finally completed buildings which will operate as the gate house, curio shop, office and the ablution block.
? There is a laptop and internet access to the Trust which also could be accessed by members of the community when need arise.
? The community itself was engaged under the Draught Relief (Ipelegeng) Programme, in building the projects infrastructure this on its own imparts knowledge on individual and also they were earning wages for the entire engagement.
? It is envisaged that there will be employment opportunities as the Trust will operate the campsites and collect revenue from tourists at the gate house.
Describe long-term benefits:
CgaeCgae Tlhabololo Trust has been operating consumptive tourism activities in NG4 for a number of years and they have since revised their management plan to shift to photographic tourism. Therefore the two boreholes will attract more wildlife to the area and hopefully diversify their tourist product of which main attraction has been mostly Gchwihaba caves over the years. The infrastructure provides facilities for making the tourists comfortable and above all managing the operation professionally by both the Trust and the Museum. Though the partnership has not been spelt out, it is understood that the community will utilize all funds accrued from the operations to compensate for lost benefits from the annual wildlife quota.
