The concept of the Buchu Bushcamp was
instigated by the principle of peripheral development around protected
areas. The principle of peripheral
development states that the infrastructure necessary for tourism and general
management in a conservation protected area should be located at or near the
boundary, rather than in the interior. Infrastructure and the activities
surrounding it, inevitably introduces a degree of disturbance to the natural
environment, so the idea behind peripheral development is to limit such
disturbance to the edges of protected areas and to maintain the interior of the
conservation area in as pristine a state as possible. Apart from this, the
protected area needs the active support of its neighbours to maintain its
integrity and generate income through political acceptance and tourism.
At a time in the history of conservation
where the conservation organisation leaders had not come up through the ranks
and had no insight into the management of conservation areas, they were
professing to the politicians that conservation should and could pay for
itself. They were all for becoming
boards and CEO’s and running protected areas as “business units” to generate
millions sufficient to cover the costs of their conservation responsibilities
throughout the Province. They were all
for taking the primary responsibility for conserving our heritage away from the
general citizen through his contribution in taxes and voluntary effort, and
going it alone. It was at this time in
the history of conservation in the Western Cape that proof was required that
community owned peripheral development was important to secure protected areas.
It became more and more difficult to motivate the conservation authorities that
this was the way to go because they saw short term gain out of developing
accommodation within the “Green Zones”, exactly opposite to the peripheral
development principle.
There were three principles to be met with
building the Buchu Bushcamp
1.
To prove that peripheral
development on nature reserves in the Western Cape would work financially,
socially and ecologically
2.
That branching out into the
tourism industry would develop a parallel rural economy for the local
agricultural community
3.
It would generate important job
opportunity for the unemployed in this rural area.
There were obviously a number of goals that
we intended to meet such as the biodiversity conservation of the important
limestone fynbos along the northern boundary of De Hoop which at the time was
being over-burnt to promote stock grazing to the detriment of biodiversity and
the education of adjoining land owners and visitors alike to the importance of
the fynbos specifically and conservation in general. We also wished to prove
that all the basic materials and skills were available locally to build a high
standard facility, and by using alien pine and blue gum for the required poles
and local thatch, it was only flooring, plumbing and fitting that were
purchased locally.
The project was divided into phases as
follows
·
Planning
·
Land use agreements with the
land owners
·
Financing (a loan at 28% with
Business Partners)
·
Source local materials and
skills and skills training
·
EIA
·
Site development
·
Building
·
Marketing
·
Bookings and management
·
Staff training
·
Visitor activities.
By the time I sold the Bushcamp in 2005,
all the principles had been met and it was sold as a successful business. The farmer and his wife on whose property the
bushcamp had been developed bought and managed it successfully from then on.
