ISSN 0378-5254 Tydskrif vir Gesinsekologie en Verbruikerswetenskappe, Vol 35, 2007 Community-based tourism and its potential to improve living conditions among the Hananwa of Blouberg (Limpopo Province), with particular reference to catering services during winter C C Boonzaaier and Loudine Philip Opsomming word moontlike aanpassings aan die tradisionele dieet voorgestel om dit by Westerse smaakvoor- Die Hananwa is ‘n relatief selfversorgende gemeen- keure te laat aanpas, en aanbevelings ten opsigte skap van Tswana-Hurutshe herkoms wat in relatie- van bepaalde dienste word ook gemaak ten einde we afsondering bo-op Blouberg in die Limpopopro- soveel huishoudings moontlik te laat voordeel trek uit vinsie woonagtig is. As gevolg van hulle af-geson- die besoekerstat. derdheid is die gemeenskap steeds baie tradisio- neel georïenteerd wat hulle kulturele aktiwiteite be- tref. Die doel van hierdie studie was om ondersoek in te — Prof C C Boonzaaier stel na die moontlikheid dat die gemeenskap voed- Department of Anthropology & Archaeology sel kan voorsien aan ‘n stat ( motse ) vir besoekers University of Pretoria wat bo-op die berg vir toeristeverblyf opgerig is. Sodanige voorsiening van voedsel aan die be-soe- — Ms L Philip kerstat sou in lyn wees met die doelwitte van ge- Department of Anthropology & Archaeology meenskapsgebaseerde toerismeontwikkeling waar- University of Pretoria volgens entrepreneurskap deur die ontwikkeling van kennis en vaardighede gevestig word sodat die plaaslike bevolking op direkte en indirekte wyse voordeel uit die besoekerstat kan trek. In hierdie on- BACKGROUND dersoek is die gemeenskap se gesindheid ten op- sigte van toerisme en die rol wat logistiese dienste The Blouberg (originally spelled Blaauwberg) is the soos die voorsiening en voorbereiding van voedsel most western extension of the Soutpansberg in the sou kon speel om van die projek ’n sukses te maak, Limpopo Province. A gap of approximately 30 kilome- ook bepaal. Aandag is gegee aan beleid ten opsigte tres separates the Soutpansberg range proper from van die beskerming van die Hananwa se kulturele Blouberg. Blouberg’s coordinates are S23º 05’ and erfenis – in besonder hulle dieetpatroon – teen die E29º00’. The surrounding plains are inhabited by a verwagte impak van toerisme. large population, but the mountain itself is sparsely populated by the descendants of the subjects of the Al elf huishoudings in die stamwyk waarin die be- traditional leader Kgoši Lebôhô to the west and of soekerstat geleë is, is besoek, en twee huishou- those of Kgoši Kibi to the east. dings in die aangrensende stamwyk is as ’n steek- proef vir kontroledoeleindes besoek. ’n Kwalitatiewe The mountain and its environs has been occupied by navorsingstrategie is gevolg en data-insamelings- the Hananwa under the hereditary leadership of the tegnieke soos individuele onderhoude en deelne- Lebôhô lineage since at least the 1820s, when the mende waarneming is gebruik. In die proses is daar Hananwa arrived as a group of refugees that had deurentyd gepoog om gemeenskapsbetrokkenheid splintered off from the Hurutshe of Botswana. They te bewerkstellig deur die inwoners se oordeel oor displaced the Madebana, who inhabited the area at ver-bandhoudende sake soos toerisme en die vol- the time. After their arrival, the Hananwa split into two houbaarheid daarvan, voedselresepte en die voor- groups, one under Lebôhô and the other under Kibi. bereiding daarvan vir toeriste te bepaal en voorstel- Kibi and his people moved away and settled in the le van die inwoners te kry met besondere verwysing eastern parts of the Blouberg (Breutz 1953:20; Krige na die voorsiening van voedsel in die winter. 1937; Lestrade 1928; Roberts 1916; Van Schalkwyk 1995:68-75). Hierdie artikel gee dus ’n aanduiding van die Ha- nanwa se gesindheid jeens toerisme, die voedsel- One of the most important and tragic events in the soorte wat deur individuele huishoudings verbou Hananwa’s history after they settled at Blouberg was word, bepaalde resepte en die wyse waarop die the siege of traditional leader Kgoši Kgalushi mees algemene en belangrikste voedselsoorte (Ratshaatshaa) Lebôhô’s stronghold on top of the voorberei word, veral in die winter. Terselfdertyd mountain in 1894 by General Piet Joubert of the Zuid- Community-based tourism and its potential to improve living conditions among the Hananwa of 26 Blouberg (Limpopo Province), with particular reference to catering services during winter ISSN 0378-5254 Journal of Family Ecology and Consumer Sciences, Vol 35, 2007 Afrikaansche Republiek (ZAR) (Sonntag n.d.:XV). which is managed by the Directorate Tourism, the top From the beginning of May until the end of July 1894, visitor motse was established with the aim of empow- the forces under the command of General Joubert ering the community on top of the mountain to man- besieged the Hananwa in an effort to subjugate them. age the visitor motse by themselves. Hence, the ob- Eventually, on 31 July 1894, Kgoši Lebôhô surren- jectives in respect of the top visitor motse satisfy the dered to General Joubert. Kgoši Lebôhô and his coun- objectives of the African Ivory Route even better than cillors were taken to Pretoria. Although a military court the bottom visitor motse , in that it is meant to em- found Kgoši Lebôhô guilty of not paying taxes to the power local people to take responsibility for tourism in government and of not observing the laws of the land, their own communities and to promote community- he was never sentenced. Kgoši Lebôhô remained in based tourism by developing the necessary knowl- prison for six years. When the British occupied Preto- edge and skills to run the visitor motse (Directorate ria in 1900, he was immediately set free. He returned Tourism 2002). to Blouberg to rule over his people until his death in 1939. After the Hananwa-Boer war, the Hananwa In order to narrow the research area to a more man- women and children had to work for farmers for a pe- ageable proportion, it was decided to concentrate riod of five years without any compensation, other mainly on The Grange, on the eastern side of the than food and clothing. However, most of them found mountain. There are only 11 metse on The Grange, their way back to Blouberg (Joubert & Van Schalkwyk but it was assumed that they display the same living 1999; Sonntag n.d.:118,119,127,128,147,148; Van conditions as those found on the western side of the Schalkwyk & Moifatswane 1991). mountain (generally referred to as Malebôhô by the residents), which consists of 52 metse . The latter The only access to the top of the mountain is foot- area is separated from The Grange by an uninhabited paths winding their way up several kilometres through stretch of land, approximately four kilometres long (a thick forest from the foot of the mountain. Due to this rocky outcrop separates the eastern side of the moun- isolated setting, the community on top of the mountain tain from the western side). Due to the fact that both is still very traditional in its cultural practices. Home- The Grange and the Malebôhô area are inhabited by steads ( metse, sing. motse ), are spread out along the the Hananwa community and that the topography and top of the mountain, and the structures are examples climatic conditions are the same, the chances that of the traditional Hananwa hut type. The homesteads conditions at The Grange would be representative of are largely self-sufficient, as the people cultivate their those of the whole community were extremely high. own food and tend their own livestock. They also Nevertheless, in order to test and verify the truth of gather edible plants from their natural environment. this assumption, two households were randomly cho- Those who can afford to do so buy items such as sen and interviewed on the western (Malebôhô) side soap, personal toiletries, oil and the odd packet of of the mountain. sugar from the spaza shop at the bottom of the moun- tain. The main objective of this study was to determine whether this community could be empowered to bene- Most members of the community living on top of the fit financially from the visitor motse on top of the mountain are children under the age of twelve and mountain; and if so, how. The visitor motse itself be- adults over the age of forty-five (with women outnum- longs to the community and if it is properly managed, bering men five to one). Most of these households it could provide income in an area where job pros- have some external income, either from an old-age pects are virtually non-existent. Since its completion pension, a disability pension or a government child at the end of 2003, the visitor motse has been largely support grant paid to one or more members of the underutilized in terms of its potential advantages for household. There are virtually no local job prospects. the Hananwa and the cultural experience staying This has meant that these people have had to become there could offer tourists. (It must be emphasised that self-sufficient for their daily dietary needs. Whatever the study was conducted only seven months after the they do not grow, they collect from nature, especially completion of the visitor motse and that only three during summer, when there is an abundant variety of bookings had been received until the time when the edible foodstuffs available in their environment, and to study was undertaken.) Hence, it was decided to do a a lesser extent in winter. feasibility study focusing on the possible role that local food could play in making this incentive work better, In 2003, the provincial government erected a visitor even in winter, when the supply of crop plants is lim- homestead ( motse ) on Blouberg on the farm The ited.