Mynatour group’s adventure in South Africa has begun!! The last preparations were made in Cape Town and now the group is heading towards the Eastern Cape’s biggest town, to Port Elizabeth. This town – also known as Nelson Mandela Bay – offers beautiful blue-flagged beaches. But above all, it offers visitors opportunities to understand the history of anti-apartheid struggle and to get to know the contemporary multicultural South Africa.
Mynatour adventurers are looking forward to visit in Port Elizabeth the Calabash Tours – a responsible tourism initiative with strong social and Pro Poor agenda. This small but dynamic tourist company offers ground-breaking tours covering both the historical heart of the city, the vibrant black townships and the Xhosa culture. Calabash tours’ representatives describe that the company was established in 1997:
“…to allow visitors to access, understand and appreciate the social history of the people, their day to day experiences of being black South Africans during apartheid, as well as during our emergence as a democracy. Our experiences are real, authentic, and ethical. -/- Calabash Tours unlocks the beauty and history of the Eastern Cape, with itineraries that always include a strong people component. Rural villages, urban townships, sun drenched beaches, rolling green hills and always abundant African hospitality form part of the tours.”
Currently the township visits of Calabash Tours are accredited by Fair Trade Tourism South Africa. Calabash Tours ensures that local, and marginalized communities are involved in the decision making and that they benefit from tourism through community projects and small township businesses. Calabash Trust has also many programmes in nearby townships benefiting children and youths including an education trust, food provision, cultural exchange and furniture provision.
The Calabash staff complement is drawn from local communities. Calabash Tours has a number of tour guides from the township community and most guides were previously unemployed. Procurement is another area that Calabash has identified for its potential to contribute to the local economy. Calabash tries to purchase all goods from businesses within a 50km radius and supports informal traders.
Calabash Tours has a policy of making the township tours accessible to Port Elizabeth residents. In turn, learners from township schools are taken to various mainstream tourist attractions in the area. By doing this, the responsible tourism companies can offer opportunities to more people in the local communities to participate, experience how their cultures are being presented and also to enjoy the existing services.
“Hence the name- Calabash Tours. In African culture the Calabash is a useful object, used in the making of music, drinking of Umqomboti (African Beer), carrying of water, storage of seeds etc. As a company we wanted to reflect usefulness to both the communities we serve, as well as the clients we serve. This has been the balancing act we have walked in the last number of years.”
Since 2006, Calabash Tours has been offering also volunteer placement that offer the visitors even better possibilities to engage and interact with local communities. Calabash has initiated community partnerships with 7 local primary schools, as well as a community care, home based care HIV/AIDS programme. The volunteers can help in these two areas of great need — HIV and education – which have been identified together by Calabash and the township communities. The volunteers stay minimum of 4 weeks and Calabash Tours promise that the volunteering primarily benefits the local communities, the volunteers, and after that the tour company itself. Volunteers can choose from staying with a family in the community where they are working (which we recommend) or staying for instance in a back packer hostel.
More about practical information here !
Text: Emily H?ckert
Images: Calabash Tours – the travel reporter