DEVELOPMENT - Subsistence farmers

At inception of the reserve there were twenty local families resident on the reserve. These households were subsistence farmers who did dry cropping and livestock farming, which was incompatible with the objectives of the reserve. Through an extensive process of negotiation with them and the Department of Land Affairs a series of solutions were developed to suit their individual needs. All the families were classified by the Department of Land Affairs as “labour tenants” as there were no valid land claims submitted on the reserve. One of the primary objectives was to improve the occupier’s tenure and food security by providing, wherever possible, ownership of land to them which could then be passed on to their children, and to ensure that they move to agriculturally productive areas to sustain their livelihoods.

This resulted in five of the families, who were on private land in the reserve, receiving title to a water rich, 450 hectare farm near Barberton which was purchased for them. They also received building materials, a water reticulation network and agricultural assistance to help them settle on their new farm. Another family from the private land, who owned a large herd of cattle, opted to be moved to tribal land under one of the area’s tribal leaders. A further two families moved out of the reserve onto land belonging to the Lomshiyo Trust who is also a partner in the reserve. The twelve remaining families who are resident on state land have now been included in the planning for a tenure upgrade and agricultural village project north of the reserve.