Durban - The famous Gorge Walk at the Howick Falls is to be revived by the community. Although it was a popular tourist attraction for many years, it has not been officially open for more than a year. Youth in the community spotted an opportunity to launch a business and help keep tourism alive.
It is a comfortable walk and one of the best ways to enjoy the spectacular Howick Falls. It takes visitors through riverine forest and lazy streams to see beautiful views of the cascading Howick Falls, a much-loved attraction.
The interest in reopening the Gorge Walk came after non-profit organisation Open Africa had been working with communities to develop social entrepreneurship skills among the youth and rural enterprises. The project was funded by the Finnish Embassy’s Local Co-operation Fund and Barclays Africa.
Open Africa works with small businesses to establish rural tou-rism routes that offer authentic experiences for travellers while providing jobs and generating income for residents.
Its rural tourism routes are being used as platforms for young people to gain a broad understanding of the tourism industry while giving them hands-on business experience.
Each route employs up to five youth interns aged between 18 and 35 and route members offer them a variety of opportunities to gain experience. This inc-ludes everything from office administration to guiding and guest relations.
The route association involves the interns in route management, business planning and product development.
Open Africa also helps set up management structures for these routes. Its route management programme builds the management capacity of the association’s members while enabling them to implement development projects through what is known as a challenge fund.
The interns on the uMngeni Footprint Route, which covers a vast area of the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands, identified the Howick Falls Gorge Walk as a gap in the market and opportunity for the community to be involved in the helping to improve the area’s tourism potential.
The business plan was drawn up with Open Africa’s help and will eventually be implemented through the route’s challenge fund.
The walk is to open next year.
l Claire Allison is the marketing manager of Open Africa. See www.openafrica.org
Saturday Star