Enterprise Development or “ED” seems to be the new buzz word. It is about creating sustainable business enterprises in order to create jobs and to grow the economy, and the proof is out there that small and medium enterprises are key to job creation. This is why a programme that develops entrepreneurs is top of mind for donors when looking for a partner.
The Indigenous Trees for Life Programme is a livelihoods programme that helps poor and vulnerable communities, run by NGO the Wildlands Conservation Trust in partnership with its funders. Community members are identified to operate as facilitators to teach individuals how to grow indigenous trees from seed and care for the plants until they reach a certain height. The trees are then traded back to Wildlands for food, clothes, bicycles, agricultural goods and tools, school and university fees and the trees are then either planted back into the communities or planted out in Wildlands’ forest restoration projects.
Established in KwaJobe with 300 tree-preneurs in northern Zululand in 2004, the programme has grown to 3000 tree-preneurs in 23 communities in KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga and Gauteng, and 300 000 indigenous trees are being grown per year.
The facilitators who teach communities how to grow trees are key to the project, and in recognising their contribution and to develop their skills, they will be the first group to benefit from an Enterprise Development programme that has been put together by Dumile Tshingana from Wildlands Conservation Trust, with support from the Foschini Group.
Tshingana is developing a training programme and support to facilitators currently working in the Indigenous Trees for Life programme, in order to grow their financial knowledge and entrepreneurial skills.
Tshingana explains “The programme will further skill facilitators in their roles, but also teach entrepreneurial skills in order for them to possibly start and run their own businesses, or help the tree-preneurs with such opportunities.”
“I am hoping that this initiative will empower the Indigenous Trees for Life facilitators to become drivers of their community’s positive change. I hope it will enable them to develop effective enterprise strategies to start securing more sustainable livelihoods.” said Tshingana.
The Foschini Group has been involved with the Indigenous Trees for Life programme for many years through clothing donations which are used at the “tree stores” where tree-preneurs purchase goods in exchange for the trees grown, and now they have committed R 300 000 per year over three years to this skills development programme.
Getting involved with Enterprise Development was just the opportunity Foschini was looking for.
“We at the Foschini group are thrilled to extend our relationship with the Wildlands Conservation Trust to help develop entrepreneurial skills” says Karde Buys, Senior Manager of Corporate Social Investment at the Foschini Group.
“By identifying existing facilitators who will benefit from training and support, the likelihood of real success stories emerging from the programme is high as these are individuals who have already displayed an entrepreneurial ability in teaching and developing the tree-preneurs.”
The first group of facilitators will receive their starter kits and attend workshops in January 2010, and will receive mentorship and support throughout the year.
Photo: Charmaine Veldman, Indigenous Trees for Life Programme Manager and Dumile Tshingana, Enterprise Development Manager for the Wildlands Conservation Trust with the first of three contributions from the Foschini Group dedicated to entrepreneurial training
WILDTRUST (registered as the Wildlands Conservation Trust - IT No: 4329/1991/PMB)