Their story
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KwaJobe
Restoring South Africa's wetlands, one guided tour at a time
Basic information
Experience
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Do
Impact
Start collaboration:
2026
Directly impacted families:
25
Project description
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Based in northern KwaZulu-Natal, the KwaJobe Environment and Eco-Tourism Stewards is a youth-led initiative that combats high regional unemployment by engaging over 60 local youth in wetland restoration and biodiversity conservation. The initiative has already empowered a core group of 25 young people, mostly women, with accredited bird guide training to help them access the local tourism economy. By hosting guided birding tours for visitors, these local stewards earn a sustainable income while building leadership skills, confidence, and pride in protecting their community's natural heritage.
Involvement of V Social
In collaboration with Kune Afrika NPO as local support, V Social supports the Eco-Tourism Stewards starting in May 2026 to help them transition their voluntary efforts into an independent community enterprise. To this end, we address their critical lack of infrastructure, creating a dedicated central hub for training, planning, and receiving visitors. To secure long-term market access, we are also connecting the initiative with Africaventura, with exciting discussions underway to integrate their birding and nature tours into future travel itineraries.
Start collaboration:
2026
Directly impacted families:
25
Your impact
eMkhuze
Country: South Africa
Twenty-five local youth, including 18 women and 7 men, have directly benefited from accredited bird guide training, with plans underway to fully train even more youngsters as eco-tourism grows. These opportunities create pathways to South Africa's biodiversity economy, allowing rural youth to establish nature-based livelihoods and successfully diversify local household incomes.Local women, families, and schools collaborate with the stewards by providing catering services for sessions and engaging in environmental education. Together, these community-led initiatives focus on vital restoration efforts like clearing invasive water hyacinth from Muzi Pan, which changes local perceptions by demonstrating that active community leadership, rather than only government action, can drive environmental stewardship and improve the quality of life in the region.