Community Based Tourism: Buhera’s trump card
TOURISM in Buhera has not been fully explored compared to more prominent areas like Nyanga, Vumba and Chimanimani, which are better known as Eastern Highlands acclaimed tourist destinations.
Buhera is, however, not devoid of tourist attractions, as it possesses cultural sites such as Gombe Ruins, Tohwechipi’s grave, monuments such as Kagumbudzi, Chiwona, Muchuchu and Matendera, and the engineering ingenious Birchenough Bridge.
One form of tourism activities that is directly related to the community is community-based tourism which anchors itself on community empowerment. Community-based tourism (CBT) ensures that local communities have full ownership and management of the tourism experience so that the economic benefits of tourism stay within that community.
Government, through the Ministry of Tourism and Hospitality Industry, has been consistently embarking on community-based tourism enterprises aimed at empowering rural communities and protecting the environment through local tourism projects.
Sustainable agriculture for food security and improved livelihoods in Buhera has been greatly impacted by frequent droughts and prolonged mid-season dry spells due to climate change and variability. These shocks are further exacerbated by the farmers’ limited capacity to adapt to the climatic shifts.
Buhera is one of the seven districts in Manicaland, located about 190km southwest of Mutare, which is the administrative capital of the province.
The district is known for practicing subsistence agriculture and domestic animal rearing.
Subsistence crops that are grown in this district include the drought tolerant millet and sorghum which are more preferred than maize because of low rainfall averaging 400mm – 450mm annually.
Besides subsistence agriculture and livestock rearing, there has been spontaneous mining activities of vermiculite and phosphate until recently when there has been significant investment towards lithium mining as evidenced by the commissioning of the Max Mind Sabi Star Lithium Floatation Plant by President Mnangagwa last year.
The rehabilitation and nurturing of community-based tourism projects using the available resources, tourism sites and periodical events in Buhera is set to provide self-sustenance and create employment to communities that are impoverished, yet stay proximity to tourism enterprises like small-scale lodges, dams, national monuments and other wide range of products that attract tourists.
The Bangure Community-based Tourism Project in Buhera is poised to be a success story, if there is unity of purpose among various stakeholders.
Annually, the Bangure community, working with the National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe, Buhera Rural District Council and other stakeholders come together to celebrate Matendera Monuments as a community heritage through a festival.
The Matendera Festival is a celebration of the multiple forms of tangible and intangible heritage of the Vahera, expressed through their traditional dances such as jaka and mhande traditional music.
Matendera Arts Festival is one of the key anchoring elements of the community-based tourism concept.
Corporates have also come in to support the festival by fusing in competitions like a marathon, football and exhibition of agricultural produce by the local community.
The continuous celebration of the festival by the community places the monument as a living site regardless of its ancient nature. Representing their ways of life in an open festival setting also gives the community an opportunity to conserve and transmit their intangible cultural heritage to future generations.
The construction of Matendera site is traced back to about the 17th century and the local community holds it as a sacred site. Information gleaned from oral evidence during the research shows that the name Matendera was derived from the word tenderera, which denotes the round or circular nature of the monument.
Apart from the festival which usually happens in September, there is not much economic gain or profit the Bangure community derives from the monument as there is no other structured activity or means to benefit from the monument.
The community, however, should benefit from such festivals.
NMMZ acting regional director, Mr Lloyd Makonya said there is need for the Bangure community to set up a steering committee made up of their traditional leadership and community members whose mandate will be to see the operationalisation of the community-based tourism project and lead the achievement of the set out objectives.
“Traditional leaders are community individuals who, by virtue of their power, are legitimate cultural leaders in their positions. Membership to the project should be voluntary. This may not be a challenge as the village already has an existing structure which leads the organisation of the Matendera cultural festival annually, hence the community understands the benefits of organised structured leadership.
“Promoting greater community participation in the project will make the Bangure community have a sense of ownership to the project. There is therefore need to capacitate the community with knowledge on how to craft the cultural tour routes, home set ups and creating lasting impressions for the visitor,” he said.
Apart from Matendera Monuments, there are other national monuments in the same vicinity that can be packaged as additional attractions to the Matendera-Ruti route.
There is Chironga, Chiwona, Kagumbudzi and Muchuchu national monuments. Tourism is Government-led, private sector-driven and community-oriented.
Buhera RDC has over the years contributed significantly to the marketing of the cultural heritage sites in the district using platforms like the Sanganai/Hlanganani World Travel Expo and at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF).
Tourism expert, Mr Willard Madhombiro said the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority also have a role to play to support CBT in Buhera.
“Imaging of the attractions will be done through brochures, magazines, websites, social media platforms and radio and television programmes. ZTA should also provide expert guidance on setting up CBT drawings from the successes of similar projects in other parts of the country. Schools are also important tourism clients as they need both educational and recreational experiences,” he said.