2s OPEN AFRICA

Kosi's nowpf-ofitfroml
People forced off the land
to make way for game
reserues and tourists are
now discovering they can
earn a living from tourism,
reports Eddie Koch

MTHEMBU
of
IS
flanked, on the landward
side, by the Kosi Bay lake
system and, on tJle seaward side, by
the crashing waves of the Indian
Ocean.
The amalgalm of the fresh and
salffwaters that surror.rnd her home
creates a wonderland of life forms.
Dolphins cavort in the ocean waves,
leatherback and loggerhead turtles
swim thousand of miles to nest on
the beaches a few metres from her
home.
The lakes are fringed by man-
groves, rafa palms and 80 percent of
this country's suwiving swamp for-
mouth of the Kosi lake sys-
est. At the
tem, the Tembe-Thonga people have
created a 600-year-old system of
catching fi sh with an intricate system
of fish traps made from reeds and Tourists, onoe resented by the local population, will help create jobs and bring in money
PHOTO: STEVE l-
baskets.
The awe withwhich Mthembu and Mthembu regarded tourists, who Land Affairs Minister Derek holds huge conservation
her people regard their surroundings come to the Kosi Bay nature reserve Hanekom recently visited the area for South Africa and our
is encapsulated in a haunting ritual in order to watch the turtles or look and told the residents who managed always been to marry thi
called ukubonisainganga (the moon atthe hippos thatwallowin the pans to cling on to their land in the reserve concem with the needs o:
beholds the child). Soon after a baby or marvel at the bird life or examine that they would never be moved. mr-rnities."
is bom it is taken down to the sea. A the ancient fish traps, with mild Now they a.re negotiating with the Mthembu has come 1

wave is allowed to wash over it before resentrnenl. kwaZulu Department of Nafure Con- iztuqkashiwho come to
These ziuakashi (visitors) were servation ([ONC) to start their own
they show the child to the flrst fulI
moon that rises over the ocean after identified with the fact that hundreds community-owned tourism projects
homeland are
- given t
operative approach of ttrr
its birth. of families were moved out of ttre area designed to ensure that visitors' tion authorities probat
Yet in many ways the sands of so that the nature reserve could be money flows into their homes rather potent tools for- econom
Enkovokeni, as the spit ofland is created and the restrictions that have than the pockets of outsiders. ment in the rural backwar
known localiy, create an unforgiving been placed on peoples' right to use KDNC director Nick Steel says it is Kosi Bay.
place. The soil is saline and arid. the natural resources theylive arnong. "immensely gratifying" that local peo- Parl of this new-for.rnd
Maize and sorghum do not grow well. Mthembu comes from a handfirl of ple have recently approached his stems ftom the fact that s
Villagers are not allowed to collect villages that resisted removal. They department for help in establishing been along with 40
leaders- fiom villages in th
,

shellflsh on the rocks because this continue to live inside the resen'e community-based resorts either
coastal zone has been declared a area and it has dawned on them, adjacent to or within the reserve. "mobile
marine park. Men risk being impris- almost - suddenly, that the very "lt has been a long road but Kosi Bay
around some - onofaSouth Ai
oned if they take nets into the lake in iziuakasltiwho they once thought immensely satisfring," he says in the successful ecotourism prr
search ofprotein. brought only repression may be fhe latest edition of the department's The trip was organir
So it's not surprising that source of their suvival- newsletter, Isigijtmt. "This region Communif Resource O1

Livingin
withour dolphins
I From PAGE ls merely a branch of biologr that deals
with the economy of plants and ani-
roots are a mere 2O0 or 3OO years old. mals. It cannot cover at once the vital
Togettrer we are the rainbow people threads of the African tapestry:
and there is now a worldwide fasci- scenic splendours, rich paleo-
 THE WEEKLY NIAIL & GUARDIAN
December 1994
M profit from iziuakasbi Cheel
Programme (Crop), an independent
organisation that has facilitated talkf- -
between the residents living in t;'re
Kosi Bay reserve and the KDNC, so
that community members could wjf-
ness first-hand the potential
the pitralls
- and
of nature tourism as a
-
form of rural development in
kwaZulu/Natal.
Crop organiser Andrew Zaloumis
put the trip together with the help of
the Wildlife Society of Southern
Africa in Natal and the MazdaWildlife ' -
Tfust. They packed about 40 people
into four mini-buses and took them
to the I{mgerNational Park, corlmu-
nity nrn garne reserves in the former
kaNgwane homeland, and similar
projects in what used to be called
Bophuthatswana.
In the processvillagers from north-
ern Natal met men and women
involved in community-managed *
tourism programmes from other
parts of the country, providing an
immense boost to the levels of insight
needed for community tourism to
take offin the areas around Kosi Bay.
5Tt',ffii"ffii,ffi-#i"ffi:
I similar problems ... In
pulation, wilt hetp creare iobs and brins in money
:R
pHoro:srEVE HrLroN-BARBFa
B:fllitlixti#t i,J: :##3:il:
somE of our family members, tc erc
Land Affairs Minister Derek holds huge conservation importance ate a game reserve at Pilanesberg.
Ianekom recently visited the area for South Africa and our aim is has But these Bakgafla do not want to go
nd told the residents who managed always been to marry this ecolo$cal back now because they are getting
o cling on to their land in the reserve concem with the needs of local com- certain benefits (from tourism to the
hat ttrey would never be moved. munities." game reserve)," says Mthembu.
Now they a-re negotiating with the Mthembu has come to see that '"The information we got on this trip
waZtrlu Department of Nafure Con- iztuakashiwho come to her idyllic is very useful. It can be used as a
- given Lhe new co- good beginning for talks between the
ervation (IONC) to start their own homeland are
ommunity-owned tor.rrism projects operative approach of the conserva- community perrple in Kosi Bay and
lesigned to ensure that visitors' tion authorities probably the most t}re nature peopie. Our most impor-
-
noney flows into their homes rather potent tools for economic develop- tant needs are jobs and communit-v
han ttre pockets of outsiders. ment in the rural backwaters around development of the type that creates
KDNC director Nick Steel says it is Kosi Bay. work ...
immensely gratlfyin$' that local peo- Part of this new-found perception "Now we feel at ease with the
rle have recently approached his stemsftomthefactthatshehasjust izfisakashlWhentheycometheycan
lepartment for help in establishing been along with 40 other civic provide help with these things. The
:ommunity-based resorts either ieaders- fiom villages in the vicinity of ordy problem now at Kosi Bay is that
Ldjacent to or within the resewe. Kosi Bay "mobile workshop" ttre nature people (consewationists)
"It has been a long road but around some - onofaSouth Afiica's most don't always hrm up for meetings. To
mmensely satis[ing," he says in the successfi.rl ecotourism projects. go forward, we must have better
atest edition of the department's The trip was organised by the working co-operation between our-
rewsletter, lsigtjtmt. "This region Community Resource Optimisation selves and the people from nature."
Turtles are
WEEKLY MAIL & GUARDIAN
December 1994
: inMo
Eddie Koeh discusse
a guide to paradise
' published with pedect ti
IKE SLATER
described as thr
brotherwith per
has published r
Mozambiqu
outcome of its first democri
shows that peace has a chancr
hold on that counlry anc
poised to flowin. -
'There is an overwhelming
and commitmenl to peace in
says Slater in the introducti<
Mozambiqtrc : The Es senttal Vis
rrcru '1fhe rehabilitation of trans
structure is progressing ap
already possible to travel wide
the country in two-wheel-drive
That network of roads tak
along a sketch of coasfline whi
2 500km and includes marin
reefs among the best in the wor
sea channel famous among ser
fishermen.
"This makes for a unique nati
traders and fishermen with a
tatin temperament. Most plac
ing are found on or near the co
dhow is stjll the predominant
port," says the guide.
"Whether by using high-tect
ment, a simple snorkel and gr
the top ofa sleek surfboard sl,
rolling breakers, the exploratior
of kilometres of untouched c,
seashore is an opportunity difl
anyrvhere in the world.
'Dive in areas where few (if e
before, from the comfort of b
from iu-xurious, secluded lodl
srvim from a deserted beach to r
almost exposed at low tide an,
flve metres below the surface a
There are also alluring featu
SwopI
Graeme Grange
NERNANDO RODRIGUE
fi most olhis life drawing I
L Linesandworryringaboutl
as an adverLising executive in
boardrooms. Until early this
when he found the courage, ar
fire with his daughters, to up i
behind.