The livelihoods outcomes are influenced by good application of livelihood strategies which are brought about by accessible resources. Community members present the benefits that they get from the project, as compared to those who are not involved in it. Different groups responded differently to accessibility of resources to carry out the livelihoods strategies for sustainable livelihoods outcomes.
The learning circles benefit from qualified personnel. For example, the nurse works at the local clinic. She trained twenty village health workers and people benefit from these resources. In relation to social resources, the community networks through the different groups to share skills. They have a chance to learn from each other and to develop trust among themselves.
This enables community members to participate in development activities taking place in this project. The handicraft group members have different skills and they learn from each other.
They share skills in gardening, tree planting and soil erosion control activities. The project has established rapport among community members. They work as a team.
The training and workshops held for different groups help the groups to perform their duties better, within and outside the project. That means they have acquired lifelong skills. The tour guides, for example, have the potential to protect nature for tourism and to encourage shepherds to stop degrading the environment and making unnecessary and uncontrollable fires.
The Malealea community IS proud of the physical resources established for education, environment and health. Resources such as dams and the clean water system enable them to work in their gardens without any problem. They mention that they are not vulnerable to drought. The clean water supply enables community members to rent their huts to the tourists for accommodation without a problem.
Without the project, the Malealea community would not have preserved natural assets, engaged in the environmental cleaning campaigns, have clean water available and cared for animals and HIV/AIDS-infected and affected people the way they do. That means the project improves the natural assets and the community members are able to deal with the multifaceted tourism activities. However, only a few community members understand that the communities have a say in assets such as bushman paintings and natural waterfalls that the tourists normally appreciate. This means that not all community members are benefiting from these resources the way they are supposed to because the levy collected from viewing these sites benefits only a small portion.
The Lesotho Tourism Policy (2002), section 3.4.1 states some of the economic objectives as follows: to promote the tourism industry for economic growth and foreign exchange; to create employment and income and make a sustainable contribution towards the well-being of all people in Lesotho; to create opportunities for small and medium size business as well as emerging entrepreneurs and the informal sector. With regard to employment Issues, community members expressed the following experiences.
6.4.1 Job Creation
With regard to job creation, and wage employment in particular, there are few people working with permanent contracts. This means that those who are not contracted (like the pony trekkers and tour guides) are not secure and feel vulnerable to dismissal any time. This denies them the opportunity to engage fully in the project. They constantly think of alternative jobs in different places. This might affect the project in the sense that it prepares training for newly hired personnel and temporary staff members all the time. This process is time consuming and wastes funds.
6.4.2 The small businesses
The entrepreneurship in Malealea is within groups such as the learning circle (gardens workers and tree nursery producers) and the handicraft cooperative. As members are self employed and are always engaged in the planning and implementation of the activities that affect their lives and their business, they mentioned that their livelihood strategies sustain their lives. The handicraft cooperative members mention that because the project owner encourages tourists to buy their artefacts, they are better off than people who make artefacts outside Malealea. The community garden workers explain that because they have water all year round, the garden is always green. The lodge and the local community members are the major target market. This approach gives community members the opportunity to participate with motivation.
The study observed the element of dominance. Pony trekkers initiated the idea of a veterinary chemist. The lodge owners approved it and the trust received funds for the project but they are not allowed to manage it. This implies that they do not have access and knowledge on management issues and this calls for a need for capacity building. They further complain about the tourists' treatment of horses. This problem has not been attended to and management is not doing anything to stop it. This lethargy may indicate a sign of negligence on property rights from managements' side and ignorance from community members' side. If pony trekkers had a better understanding of alternatives, they might take their complaints to a higher authority.
One of the social objectives for tourism in Lesotho is "to provide appropriate education, training and awareness programmes for tourism as well as capacity building for rural communities". Another objective is "to encourage participation by all stakeholders in the development of plans and policies making for the tourism industry" (L TP 2002 section 2.4.2).
The majority of tour guides stated that they had once attended tour guide training. They even had handbooks to remind themselves about the principles and right procedures for tour guides.
Three tour guides mentioned that they had never attended any workshop or training since starting their duties. That means they acquired the procedures from other guides.
The majority of pony trekkers mentioned that they have acquired some skills in care and treatment of horses. They feel that the training has helped them even to care for other animals.
They have learnt a lot about horse equipment, horse feeding and rearing. They regard this as a special benefit for the Malealea community. They say, "lipere tsa rona Ii shebahala Ii phela hantle ho feta tsa metse e meng" 'our horses look healthier that those from other villages around us'. They say that this is an improved skill for them because they now treat their horses with better care. They however, feel subjugated by tourists who do not treat the horses the way they are supposed to. Some tourists like to race the horses in evening hours or in cold temperatures. These conditions are not good unless the horses are covered with blankets to keep them warm thereafter. According to them, this causes colds in horses and horse owners have to spend a lot of money for horses.
When the handicraft cooperative started, some people did not have skills although they were interested in being part of the cooperative. In the past those people were given chances to acquire skills. Those who had skills were given further training on making good quality artefacts, as well as in business, and bookkeeping skills. Unlike other groups this group is independent in the sense that it meets every week and makes decisions for its business.
Moreover, the group does not share any money with the lodge; this means that it is in control of its resources and empowered in decision-making skills.
The learning circles sample mentioned that a large number of people are trained in a wide range of skills especially on HIV and AIDS-related issues. They were trained to destigmatise
AIDS patients, to test patients for HIV and to raise awareness campaigns. They also learnt gardening skills, soil erosion control, tree planting skills and waste recycling. This is a step towards capacity-building and empowerment because people take action in matters affecting their lives. They improve skills and become powerful. This leads to a sense of community building because people volunteer to help through HIV and AIDS support groups. The discussion of HIV / AIDS issues helps the already affected and infected people and raises awareness of those who are less informed about HIV and AIDS-related issues. It also empowers those who are HIV positive to take care of themselves so that they can carryon with their lives.
The main objective of the project with regard to community development was to increase benefits of community members from the projects, either through economic opportunities or through social development. The contribution of employment to community development is limited because few direct employment opportunities resulted because of unskilled and semi- skilled labour within the tourism business. However, employment opportunities created through this project generate income for community members who were not able to purchase goods and services previously.
Although the project linkages are limited by community members' lack of control of mobilisation of resources, the existing linkages are strong. This is the case with the community garden which supplies the lodge and the entire community with vegetables. The lodge has also created a market for handicraft groups as it encourages tourists to buy artefacts, provides education, and health facilities as well as environmental education. Education for disadvantaged children and orphans is funded by the project. Community members get free education on nutrition, care and treatment of HIV and AIDS patients and environmental cleaning, which are done mostly to impress tourists. These facilities also benefit the host community. That means the Malealea community has better livelihoods strategies compared to other communities in the vicinity.
6.S The project management perception of public participation
Based on the perceptions of panel members on community involvement and development, it seems that the appropriate community involvement procedure, as recommended by scholars such as Pearce et al. (1996), is not followed in the Malealea Lodge and Pony Trekking Centre.
The majority of panel members mentioned that a needs assessment is never done before implementing any development activity. This is not a sustainable approach to community development. It does not give community members the opportunity to voice their needs and to engage in the process of planning their development activities. They just follow orders. It promotes further dependency instead of the self-reliance encouraged in the people-centred approach. Community members are not gaining any skills that empower them to manage their own development activities.
Community development is about providing services and goods to the community concerned.
It also involves empowering community members to be competent human resources in the development process. In the case of the Malealea community, the community members are part of the development process only at the implementation stage; they are excluded in the planning, management monitoring and evaluation stages. Even independent groups, such as the handicraft and learning circles who initiated development activities, do not have the rights and opportunities to make final decisions on budgeting finance for their cooperation.