A partnership between a Khoisan organisation and a Khoisan-owned resort farm is creating jobs and spreading hope. The partnership has created 16 jobs so far with a target of adding 55 more jobs in the coming months. Recognising that young women – unemployed mothers in particular – face an outsized burden of unemployment, underemployment, and lower workforce participation the focus is on creating jobs for this group with a target of 60 jobs for moms.
This is being achieved through the development of a number of social enterprises on the resort farm – Raaswater Resort – in the Bergriver Region of the Western Cape. The owner of Raaswater Resort works closely with the local community, creating several jobs and economic opportunities for local entrepreneurs. This set the stage for the social enterprises that is creating jobs for moms.
These enterprises are subsidiaries of the woman-run nonprofit company Goedverwacht Awakens which seeks to create economic opportunities. The social enterprises include a tour operator, marketing agency, catering business, coffee shop, farmstall and event management company.
This project stems from an initiative that started 25 years ago – the Snoek en Patat Fees. In response to a lack of economic opportunities a group of community leaders got together and created the event based on the tradition of taking sweet potatoes (patat in Afrikaans) and other produce that grow in the fertile soil and trading it for snoek on the West Coast.
From humble beginnings, the event brought a much-needed economic boom in the middle of winter. In an area that relies heavily on seasonal harvesting for income, it was a lifeline for many. It also led to the creation of several cottage industries and a homestay experience that invites tourists to spend the night with the Indigenous community.
The team is now seeking further investment to capitalise the social enterprises. The funding will be used to build up businesses that are sustainable and continue to add value for generations to come. The job creation project is called Project Seven Gen, based on the Seven Generations Principle that asks us to consider how our actions will affect our relatives in 150 years – and also how our ancestors 150 years ago would have acted.
Goedverwacht Awakens runs an international award-winning homestay and cultural experience. This experience will help the tour operating business work closely with the local communities to develop and market tours with a special focus on the small towns. As the Cradle of Human Culture, tourists will be invited to experience and explore the places where humans created art for the first time.
There is a large working-age population that is reliant on social grants. This project is a pathway to economic opportunities and sustainable livelihoods for them. For the first six months the project will rely on external funding with the goal to reduce that reliance fully within two years. The fact that South Africa is experiencing an unemployment crisis is clear, and how we as a nation respond to this crisis will shape the future for generations to come.
A daycare and afterschool centre is being built to accommodate the children and several social outreach programmes are also underway. In the planning includes programmes on water safety, cultural awareness, health awareness, and support for local creches and the elderly.
Our land is rich in resources, and our people are driven and talented. All that is needed is the opportunity. The organisation is currently seeking donations of restaurant equipment and funding. You can find out more at www.goedverwacht.org.za.
