10 Jun 2021

It is desolate. There is no sign of latest occupation.

The Covid-19 register is screaming empty. Heaps of sand and twigs left stuck on river edges bear testimony to latest, irrepressible overflows that spared nothing on their way.

In and out of tributaries we go. A trail of electric poles erected in a straight line leads to our destination. Up and down the hills, shrouded by mophane trees we became inconspicuous to the animals at the pond as we meander to the site.

A dazzle of Zebras, turbocharged, sprint briskly past our vehicle to get cover in the nearest bush. In the last tributary a lone female elephant sand-baths.

Slowly, but surely we maneuver the 3.5km rocky terrain that branches eastwards from the main gravel road leading to Talana Farms.

For the adventurous it is a splendor and delight witnessing the jumbos and other wild animals, adrenaline pumping as vehicles steer and circumvent the high, rocky grounds.

But for the hesitant and unadventurous it is a torturous exercise that breeds fear, uncertainty and sometimes headaches. A white lettered black board, erected on less than half a metre high stone wall that reads ‘MOLEMA Bush Camp’ ushers us into the camp, our destination.

Established in 2000, MOLEMA Bush Camp is a community tourism operation for communities of Motlhabaneng, Lentswelemoriti and Mathathane villages, hence MOLEMA.

It is unfenced. The tents and other structures are completely overshadowed and dwarfed by the gigantic, bushy-leafed trees along the Limpopo River bank.

The majestic trees give life to endless shadows that coupled with soothing breeze from Limpopo River, about 300 metres away, breathe serenity and calm personified.

Troubled souls and those itching for a time off may find the place quite ideal for unwinding.

It is a bush camp of five campsites, each site accommodating four tents.

It also has four wooden self-catering chalets which can take a total of 10 people.

A few metres from the river is the entertainment place that permits unfettered view of the river while simultaneously inviting some quiet, but persistent breeze from Limpopo.

At the site we are greeted by a female employee. She was the only one tending to the seemingly desolate campsite at the time. It is quiet. It is muted. No business activity ongoing. The 4 800 hectare bush camp is struggling for survival after the previous lessee left for South Africa after facing business challenges, owing to COVID-19, according to Mathathane tribal leader, Kgosi Olgas Serumola.

Kgosi Serumola appeals for help to try and breathe life into the project that is slowly losing some breath. “Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP) has community trust fund and we seek that they assist us in that regard,” Kgosi Serumola says. Also challenging the district technical advisory committee to assist MOLEMA with a sound proposal to garner the much needed financial injection.

Not only does the community leader call for financial assistance, he also advocates for training of staffers to successfully run the bush camp. In case where mentors are engaged, Kgosi Serumola strongly calls for skills transfer from the experienced to his people.

“You will understand that since its inception, MOLEMA has never run profitably,” Kgosi Serumola says and clears that the project of the three communities of Motlhabaneng, Lentswelemoriti and Mathathane should no longer rely on leasing out.

He argues that had the community been in charge of affairs at the campsite when COVID-19 struck, they could have devised measures to keep the business afloat.

Ever since May 2020 the lessee never paid rental after citing that COVID-19 had adversely affected operations at the camp, Kgosi Serumola reveals. In response, Terra Conservancy has pledged to assist MOLEMA Bush Camp off its knees.

“We have been talking to MOLEMA for a long time about what to achieve for MOLEMA and I told them the last thing you can do is to rent out this piece of land,” says director of Terra Conservancy, Mr Jurgen Elbertse in an interview. Terra Conservancy boasts extensive experience in community tourism and has implemented such projects successfully in South Africa, according to Mr Elbertse.

“They have a beautiful farm here, MOLEMA so, the outline proposal we gave them is that we will mentor them and help set up their business, help design and build the camp on MOLEMA so that they can run it profitably,” Mr Elbertse further elaborates on their commitment to assisting MOLEMA. Mr Elbertse reveals that the works on MOLEMA will be bolstered by DWNP, which has pledged support to the cause.

He is upbeat that a combination of expertise, business acumen and knowledge will see MOLEMA flourish into ‘a serious community tourism operation.’ In partial fulfilment of their pledge to assist, Terra Conservancy will second some of their staff to MOLEMA Bush Camp and help with training new staff and allowing them to job shadow their peers on running a successful tourism operation.

In preparations, Mr Elbertse explains that Terra Conservancy has sent Kgosi Serumola on a benchmarking trip to South Africa, at the campsite they had mentored, to assess if the models used could suit their aspirations. He was astonished to see how beautiful that camp was, how well it was run and the motivation of staff, Mr Elbertse revealed.

“You must understand there’s nothing worse than not being able to make your own money,” says the Terra Conservancy’s director, who opines that the community need take ownership of the project to make it a success story.

He says that even in mentoring the business, with tight control in the beginning, the community will be charged with ownership of the enterprise nonetheless.

“It is basically a lack of business experience and a lack of how to work with tourists because a tourist is a very difficult client and that’s where we do most of the mentorship,” he says.

He also advises that MOLEMA opens a room for local people ‘to come and stay for an acceptable fee.’

He finds that turning MOLEMA fortunes around entails having the right market and the right training for staffers. ENDS