LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVES

Without market access, any innovation generating incentives that power development cannot be sustained. As such, enhanced market access is the logical outcome of all the beef and tourism value chain development work that WEA and its partners implement for and with the community of Habu. For example, with the support of Xigera Safari Lodge, WEA has embarked on a project called “Village Greens” to build the capacity of a fledgling women and youth development cooperative to produce high quality organic vegetables for local supply and for sale to the lodge, which in turn will supply the co-op with compost from its tourism lodge in the Okavango Delta. Moreover, WEA shall facilitate Habu’s intended branding of its “free ranging, grass-fed, Wildlife Friendly Beef” to access niche markets beginning with the premium Okavango Delta tourism market.