Evaluating outcomes at Madikwe and Makuleke by Peter John Massyn

‘communities’ structured as legally constituted collectives obtained long-term lease rightson terms substantially similar to those available to private firms. This allowedneighbouring residents to participate in the mainstream of the nature-tourism led economyas if they were private investors.The first such development, Buffalo Ridge Safari Lodge, opened its doors to trade inDecember 2004. It is owned by the Balete community who live in a village calledLekgophung just west of Madikwe. A second lodge, trading as Thakadu River Camp andowned by the Batlokwa community of Molatedi, became operational in August 2006. TheNWPTB has offered similar leases to two other neighbouring communities but theseprojects have stalled due to intra-communal conflicts.2.2 ObjectiveAccording to the Buffalo Ridge and Thakadu business plans, the core aim of the lodgeprojects was “to optimise the flow of benefits to the community without compromising thecommercial viability and long-term sustainability of the lodge as a high value tourismenterprise.” 11 The projects were thus conceptualised from the start as an experiment inwhich the southern African region’s current stress on wildlife tourism as a strategicindustry is fused into a community-owned enterprise that maximizes jobs, wages, leasefees and other forms of tangible benefit to rural people. Importantly, the approach wasrooted in a market-friendly orientation, focusing on improving the participation of a groupof rural poor in the high value tourism market.2.3 Structural and legal arrangementsThe structural arrangements underpinning the projects are illustrated in the followingdiagram:11 Balete Ba Lekgophung Development Trust, 2003: 1./8