Tlholego Ecovillage:

A Sustainable Development Project in Rural South Africa

Ecotourism

Ecotourism at TDP

A visit to Tlholego offers an opportunity to have an authentic experience of real conditions in rural South Africa. You will be warmly welcomed to a peaceful environment with simple facilities. And you will encounter some of the challenges that we face in the early stages of an ecovillage development in an arid part of Africa where poverty is widespread.

You can enjoy Tlholego and its surroundings on many levels. Some will simply wish to revel in a quiet appreciation of the African high veldt, its vegetation and wildlife. You may find it rejuvenating to stroll through the lush gardens and vegetation of Tlholego, and the surrounding African high veldt. Overnight accommodation can be arranged in beautiful mudbrick houses and organic food from the gardens cooked local style has attracted many visitors looking for a relaxing break in these peaceful surroundings.

Sunsets alone are worth the visit. A favorite viewing spot looks out from the remains of an Iron Age cattle kraal (corral) built of stones on the edge of the village. You can also take a short walk to the west to visit Molokwane, the remains of a maga-sized Iron Age settlement. Excursions to Molokwane can be arranged.

You also have the opportunity to visit Tshedimosong, a rural public school on our property. Visitors have offered their skills, varying from English language to drama, music and sports.

Within the Tlholego village settlement, you can observe and experience Tlholego’s innovative model of sustainable living that includes permaculture food gardens, water harvesting, sanitation systems and energy efficient buildings. Community members will show you around and explain how things work so that you can gain knowledge of sustainable living options.

Beautiful pond structure catches water tank overflow, providing habitat for birds and small animals, fish and water plants for residents, and tranquility and a connection to nature for all

Pitching in and joining community members in work projects, building and maintaining the ecovillage systems, can be a joyful way to connect with your experience of Tlholego, and its residents, while making a valuable contribution.  Tlholego also offers internship and training opportunities.

We can arrange visits that will help you appreciate the society and cultures of the surrounding area. These include visits to clinics and hospitals in nearby informal settlements, rural Bafokeng tribe, and sangoma traditional healers.

Hospitality team

Using the Tlholego Institute as a base, the women of Tlholego have formed themselves into a competent team capable of catering to a variety of people who visit the project. This includes groups of up to 25 students who can attend residential training programs, small conferences, the intern program and many regular people who visit from time to time. 

A unique quality, which has developed at Tlholego over the years, is the comfortable and pleasant manner in which residents welcome and host visitors from all over the world.  This has created a healthy environment for learning and an opportunity for people to experience first hand, the various aspects of sustainable living.

Members of VSO, the British volunteers group, use Tlholego for their rural in-country training experience and have offered the following comments about their experience at Tlholego:

“Volunteers got a real bonding opportunity”

“Well organized, felt like a holiday”

“Made urban-based volunteers wish they had rural placements”

“This was the best part of the in-country training”

“Everyone should experience it”

“A real feel of South Africa and real community spirit”

As these ecotourism opportunities grow within the region, Tlholego aims to build upon this initial foundation and establish itself as a unique venue, providing a real and authentic African experience, connecting the sustainable knowledge of the past and the future as a gift in the present.

Kentse and Mamiki lay-out a delicious spread in the cook house

Mating, chief garderner, serves up a meal

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