Briefly, TOCaDI is a non-governmental organization based in Shakawe that works with isolated rural communities in the Okavango sub-district in the areas of community development, cultural tourism and natural resource management, aiming to provide people with skills to maximize their income and ensure sustainable use of their land resources. You can find out more on their recently launched website.
To get a better understanding of my work, here is a summary of the tasks and projects I am involved in.
The Shaikarawe community, located about 15 minutes from Shakawe, is facing depletion of its forest resources from veld fires, overharvesting, harvesting at the wrong times of the year, and resources being used by surrounding communities. These forest resources are vital for the Shaikarawe community for food, building materials, medicinal purposes, firewood, and various livelihood activities. As a result, the community is looking to protect their land through obtaining Forestry Reserve status. The idea is that there will be conservation of the forest resources, improved nutrition and food security, more methods of income generation, and even opportunities for cultural and ecological tourism in the future, all areas in which the community has already been trained.
Once the reserve status is approved by the local Land Board, a consultant will create the Management Plan and Atlas, which will assist the community in carrying out the management of their land. I spent the first few weeks reading all the existing documentation on the project and garnering background information. I have visited the community, where I discovered they had planned an official welcome ceremony for us, however we ended up arriving later than expected so the ceremony didn't happen. I also helped write the terms of reference to hire the consultant, who has since been hired, and will be compiling all existing documents for the consultant to work with. While the objectives of the project seem noble and the project seems to be more or less on track, there are a few issues I have seen so far. To my knowledge, the funding for this project is set to end in December, at which point the project will mostly be in the hands of the consultant to continue the work started by TOCaDI over 4 years ago. I question to what extent TOCaDI will still be involved in the new year, particularly how much follow-up or monitoring will be done of the project. |
The current Crafts Centre opened in May 2012 to act as a central selling location to provide a better market for the baskets and other products (jewellery, clay and wood products) made by women in the region. TOCaDI buys the products directly from the women, paying them a fair price for their work, then sells them in the Crafts Centre to consumers, who include people in the region, outside visitors and tourists. The aim is to improve the ability of the women to generate their own source of income, and to enhance the capacities of the producers, through holding training sessions and workshops for the women in areas such as quality control, basket designs and sustainable harvesting.
The idea for the Crafts Centre is that in the future it will be a self-sustaining social enterprise, running independently of TOCaDI on its own profits. Plans are also in place for a new Crafts Centre on the main road that is more visible and accessible to visitors, with the idea that this will be operational in the new year. Right now, the Crafts Centre is facing many issues, notably the limited income generated for the producers due to minimal or inconsistent sales, thus impacting the ability of the women to meet their basic needs. So far I have read all the information existing on the Crafts Centre and found out a lot more from talking with my co-workers, meeting some of the producers, and assisting with day-to-day processes of the Crafts Centre. I have helped with inventory, organizing the basket display, and have implemented an updated version of the inventory spreadsheet. Using the survey data collected by the previous INDEVOURS, I have put together a comprehensive report on the producers' situation for the project donors. I am also working towards implementing some ideas to improve the business processes and marketing of the Crafts Centre. For example, I am hoping to set up a more functional layout for the opening of the new Crafts Centre, including using my artistic skills to make more interactive and educational museum-like displays. In October, I was also able to attend a community Tree Planting Event in the neighbouring village of Mohembo, where we set up a booth for TOCaDI, sold some of our products and spread awareness about the Crafts Centre. |