COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENTS

The project implementation team members from the ARC, with the support of the Project Management Unit (PMU) office in the DFFE hosted and facilitated stakeholder engagements with communities in the Northern Cape Province. The Officials from the Northern Cape Department of Agriculture, Environmental Affairs, Rural Development and Land Reform (DAERLR) assisted with coordinating the identification of the locations/communities and sending out the invitation to the stakeholders. The engagement involved community members from Kuruman and the surrounding villages, Springbok and the surrounding towns, Askham, Khomani San, and Klein Mier.  The age group of the attendees (males and females) ranged from 27 – 78 years old, and included herbalists, traditional healers, wild harvesters, and farmers of medicinal plants. The engagement provided opportunities for the stakeholders to familiarize themselves with research and development activities that are being conducted at Die Eiland Research Farm, but also to engage the researchers and make inputs into the research plans.

Figure 1. Stakeholder engagement in Klein Mier.

Figure 2. Stakeholder engagement in Kuruman.

Figure 3. Stakeholder engagement in Springbok.