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Submitted by mahesh_admin on July 15, 2023
Bioprospecting Ecotourism
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Namaqua Game Farm
Short Description
The Namaqua region is known for spectacular wild-flowering events. Tourists from all over the world visit in the spring to view this natural phenomenon. The Namaqua Game Lodge and farm presents opportunities in tourism enterprises promoting botanical eco-

Goal

The Rooiwal Community Property Association (R-CPA) Board aims to build adequate capacity to provide a broad range of services in botanical tourism, wildlife and bioprospecting with a key output to refurbish the lodge and create a botanical garden with an aviary and snake park.

Investment Range / ROI

R20 Million - R50 Million
ROI - 12% pa

Public or Private Sector

This is a Private Sector Opportunity

Investment Readiness

Environment & Social Impact

• Ecotourism Development
• Job Creation
• Skills Development
• SMME Development
• Expansion of Protected Areas 

SDGs

Investment Opportunity at a Glance

 

Land Ownership and Governance

Land Ownership

Fully Restituted land with title deeds
5,554 hectares in the Northern Cape is owned by the CPA for the Rooiwal Community.

 

Governance Structure

Community Property Association
Joint Venture partnership

Land Size

5554 Hectares

Location

Northern Cape

Investment Opportunity Assessment

Bioprospecting


Core Operations

  • Cultivation and Harvesting


Activities

  • Essential oils processing facility.

Ecotourism


Core Operations

  • Accommodation


Activities

Existing Lodge with 11 rooms - requires renovation.
Existing campsite with basic facilities.

 

Investment Opportunities

 

  • Establishment of botanical gardens with aviary and snake park
  • Refurbishment and upgrade of the lodge
  • Construction of a conference centre to host public and private events
  • Game purchases for re-stocking and potential hunting
  • Upgrading Boreholes and water pipes
  • Fire protection and clearing of alien invasive species
  • Upgrading the security infrastructure to protect game and assets
  • Purchasing tractors and vehicles
  • Manufacturing essential oils and handicrafts

Investment Requirements

 

Investment Range Required
R20 million - R50 million

Type of Investment Required
Capital Expenditure
Infrastructure Funding
Working Capital

Funding Type for Financial Requirements
Equity, Debt, Grant

Non-Financial Requirements
Technical services
Capacity building

Value Proposition and Enablers

 

Value Proposition

  • Protected Biodiversity Stewardship Site 
  • Community-owned land with no legal disputes
  • Strong governance with a board in place
  • Located within a Protected Area Expansion Corridor between the Namaqua NP & Goegap Nature Reserve
  • The site is home to the richest bulb flora of any arid region in the world and is famous for spring flowers
  • The tourist site has a 5km long scenic trail, two nature walks, picnic sites, and a research centre
  • Biodiversity Stewardship site

 

Key  Enablers

  • Renovation and refurbishment of the disused lodge and to build additional rooms and staff accommodation
  • Develop and construct an Essential Oil processing and packaging facility and commercialise a range of bioprospecting ventures and products
  • Build infrastructure (fencing, water tanks, roads) to enhance the lodge

Business Operations

Ecotourism

Bioprospecting

Primary Customers

 

Domestic & Regional tourists in flower season who stay in the camp.
Schools and colleges on educational tours.

Active Business Entities

 

Rooiwal Community Property Association.

About this Opportunity

 

The site is a Protected Area in terms of the Protected Areas Act and is home to the richest bulb flora of any arid region in the world and more than 1,000 of its estimated 3,500 plant species are found nowhere else on earth. Traditional medicine may be derived from these species. Amphibians and reptiles are also well represented, along with several endemic species.

The property is strategically located within a Protected Area Expansion corridor that is planned between the Namaqua National Park and the Goegap Nature Reserve.

No economic activities are currently in operation and have not taken place since the ownership transfer was done in 2015.

Investment Opportunities include Game Ranching; Botanical Camp with Aviary and Snake Park; Essential Oils and Handicrafts; Lodge & Conference Centre and Bush Encroacher eradication.

The sustainable development of Namaqua is dependent on the land and natural ecosystem. The anchor business potential is in the wildlife economy, botanical eco-tourism and research, as well as bio-prospecting.

The San people of Rooiwal in Namaqualand, originally crop farmers, were displaced from their land with rich soils and good climate, to dry land on the mountains, where they were forced to learn how to live as livestock ranchers.

The land restitution process has restored land to the Rooiwal Community, albeit in a site far away from the cropping region from which their forefathers were originally displaced.

The land is now community-owned, with no land-related legal disputes, and is governed under clear legal structures. 

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