01 April 2014

Local development organisation implementing world first solutions to Youth unemployment in the rural areas

Submitted by: Abram

By Abram Molelemane

Globally, rural areas are underdeveloped and face many challenges – in SA, this is even more the reality.  In fact, studies indicate that only 21% of people in South Africa living under the minimum levels are resident in densely settled areas, meaning that 79% of our poorest citizens are rurally based.  In an effort to address these challenges, many developing countries have adopted strategies to give people in rural areas incentives to stay there and build a better life for themselves. 

In India, where rural poverty remains a burning issue, the number of rural poor is estimated to be around a quarter of a billion persons. In a quest to tackle this challenge, the Indian government has restructured and merged its existing rural self–employment programmes. A programme known as “Swarnjayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana” (SGSY), an initiative aimed at providing sustainable income to poor people living in rural areas of the country, was launched in April 1999.

 Since its inception, around 2.25 million Self–help Groups (SHGs) aimed at bringing poverty stricken families above the poverty line have been established, incorporating over 3.5 million people. Further, the scheme has also benefited over 3 million self – employed individuals.

Closer to home, organisations such as Indibano, Mvula Trust, the Local Economic Development Fund, the Rural Development Support Program and  Ncera Macadamia are also doing great things in rural development. Many of these organisations have a special focus on civil society and community participation, integrated rural development, disaster management and skills training, all of which are much needed in our underdeveloped rural areas. 

Research shows that most of the fast developing rural communities across the world share a common thread; instead of just giving hand-outs, their support organisations have intensely invested in providing skills and development training in their respective communities.   Many development initiatives, including some of ours in South Africa, follow this lead and have experienced positive results.

Sibongile Tabata, Chief Executive Officer of Indibano, an Economic Development Implementation Organization based in East London, concurs with these self-help methodologies. In fact, her organisation’s prime agenda is to equip impoverished communities to participate in the economic mainstream through commercialisation of their natural resource endowments, whilst making sure they acquire the necessary skills to enable them to create wealth and support themselves.  Indibano’s collaborative effort with The Kula Investment Group, Phambili Vuma Investments and PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers) has initiated several projects that promise to have a lasting impact in the lives of many rural people in the Eastern Cape. Their innovative use of a three-fold partnership between the Community, Corporate role-players and Government is of great interest, and bodes well for rural solutions that require long-term commitment, entrepreneurial energy and meet a real market need.

One example is the Indibano Wool-Producing Hubs Pilot Project. This Eastern Cape initiative – a collaboration between the Youth Communities of Zulukama in the Chris Hani district, The Cape Wools SA ,  the District Municipality, Olive Leaf Foundation, Masisizane and NYDA is expected to achieve the upgrade of 36 Operational Shearing Sheds, empowering the youth with their own stock and full training for youth shearers and sorters. Estimates are that this will lead to 72 permanent job opportunities, 648 seasonal jobs and the production of quality wool for commercial trading by the youth cooperatives. This initiative is a  South African, if not a world first, that will entice rural youth to remain in the wool-producing industry.

The ethos behind this rural self-help initiative is that:

• If community members become aware of their problems and are given sufficient information on which to base their decisions (awareness);

• Are allowed to plan and implement projects for themselves (action planning);

• Are given the space to experiment to find the most appropriate solution (resourcefulness);

They will take responsibility for their situation (responsibility); and thereby gain confidence in their ability to solve their own problems (self-esteem).


Equipping community-based enterprises to develop, operate, compete and maintain a commercial business is an overarching challenge to poverty alleviation and economic growth in South Africa, says Sibongile Tabata.  Catherine Wijnberg, who is a Director of Indibano and founder of
Fetola, an enterprise development consultancy, concurs with this statement, adding that: “Although difficult to set up, when professionally established and run, rural development initiatives provide an excellent opportunity for companies wishing to make a lasting economic difference, and build their brand amongst these communities.”

Some of the challenges in our rural communities include the absence of infrastructure (water, electricity supply and proper roads) and the neglect of agriculture in rural areas. Furthermore, because rural populations are geographically dispersed, and because rural communications and transportation infrastructure is often poor, rural people have great difficulty organizing and expressing their preferences through political processes.

The rural poor, women in particular, have little political power. Globally, urban elites pursue policies that disadvantage the agricultural sector, such as onerous taxes and low urban food price policies. This policy set, often identified as urban bias, has been pervasive in many countries. Although rural elites are often able to obtain some compensation, this amount is insufficient to offset urban bias, and often aggravates the impacts of urban bias on the rural poor.

Given that rural development projects play a significant role in boosting the economy, what can be done to address the many challenges that threaten their effectiveness?

 Firstly, the key question prior to starting any rural development project should be whether it is driven by demand or supply. If it is a demand-driven project, based on a well-known and accepted community need already articulated by those living in the community, it is much more likely to succeed once external funding ends. Often, supply-driven projects based on donor agendas or external "perceived" need fail to capture the attention and commitment necessary from the receiving community, and thus fail quickly once external support ends.

Secondly, a strong sense of local ownership and genuine participation in project design, implementation and monitoring and evaluation by both men and women are critical to successful implementation and sustainable benefits, (OECD (1989)). This requires that the stakeholders (i.e. the beneficiaries and local personnel) meaningfully participate and play a core role in the programme identification and design process.

“The ideas should come from the community, belong to the community, and be a part of the community, it should be locally driven, “concurs Ms Tabata.

Lastly, political support and support by the authorities or authorized bodies is critical for the sustainability of development projects. It is important to find the right level of support: local, regional, national or professional organisations. Programs and projects are implemented within a wider policy environment - Government policies can have significant impact on the sustainability of development programs or projects. Programs and projects which ‘fit ’ with Partner Government policies have much better prospects for sustainability, as they are more likely to have high-level political and institutional support both during implementation and beyond.

Globally, rural development projects play a significant role in boosting the economy and transforming lives. In South Africa, the results are substantial; with proper support and affirmative policies more can be achieved. By working together with commercial principles community, corporate Social Investment and Government stakeholders can achieve lasting success, and with 69% of South Africans living in rural areas and our cities bursting at the seams, the time to redress the urban bias is now.

For more info on Indibano contact Sibongile Tabata at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or Catherine Wijnberg at www.fetola.co.za