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Tlholego Ecovillage: A Sustainable Development Project in Rural South Africa Ecotourism |
 
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Molokwane Iron Age Village The Molokwane Iron Age Village lies adjacent to the TDP. It is an undeveloped area of magnificent, well-preserved stone-walled ruins of an early Sotho-Tswana agro-pastoral hunting and trading society that flourished in the western Magaliesburg (a mountain range adjacent to the TDP) region, dating back to the 14th century. The area covered by the stone walls is approximately five square kilometres, probably making it the largest stone-walled archaeological site in South Africa. 1 With a population estimated to have reached 10-12,000, it was one of the largest settlements in South Africa at the time.
Molokwane has been recommended for designation as a national heritage archaeological site, and provides an important environment for learning about our African heritage and how people lived in harmony with the natural environment. It was occupied “by a formidable population involved in a prosperous agro-pastoral way of life perfected by their unique and successful adaptation to an environment well-suited for herding and agriculture.” 2 This mega-site was occupied for six to seven
generations, beginning in the 1600s by Iron Age Bakwena Bamodimosana
Chiefdoms. Their descendants
are a major group of contemporary Batswana society in South
Africa. The remains
of Molokwane include the royal capital of this village, which served as
the ideological hub of the chiefdom. Community
Footnotes 1 & 2: Pistorius, Julius C. 1992. Molokwane: an Iron Age Bakwena Village, Early Tswana Settlement in the Western Transvaal. Johannesburg: Perskor Printers (ISBN 0-620-16636-3)
You may purchase this informative book (right) from Tlholego for R55 or US$10 outside South Africa, plus shipping and handling. Please email your order. |
Molokwane from the air
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Future Plans Over the past five years, the Tlholego Institute has been networking with local communities, university scholars, provincial government, related individuals and the private sector to establish an integrated development plan to preserve and develop the Molokwane site as an ecotourism destination. The local government study voices strong support for sustainable ecotourism: “The first important quality of responsible tourism is its commitment to environmental and cultural sustainability. However, it is not enough to ensure that the tourism industry lasts for a long time by nurturing the attractions on which it is based. Tourism must also have a positive social and economic impact. ”Sustainable tourism is tourism and associated infrastructure that, both now and in the future, must: operate within the natural capacities for the regeneration and future productivity of natural and cultural resources; recognise the contribution that communities, customs and lifestyles make to the tourism experience; accept that these people must have an equitable share in the economic benefit of tourism; and be guided by the wishes of local people and communities in host areas.” The Molokwane site is a clear inspiration of the African Renaissance. We aim for it to become the central focus of a much wider development in educational and cultural tourism, supported by organic systems of agriculture and providing economic opportunities for the many thousands of people in the surrounding region. Tlholego has already taken the necessary steps to ensure that the present owner on the land on which Molokwane is situated understands the significance and importance of this site. Our next steps are to register Molokwane as a national heritage site and link it to the ecotourism initiatives already underway at Tlholego. Tlholego aims to establish the Molokwane Heritage and Wildlife Conservancy to facilitate the sustainable preservation and development of this site.
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