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Leonard Ncube Victoria Falls Reporter
A CROSS-BORDER trader in Victoria Falls has opened a multi-purpose leisure centre in an effort to tap the growing tourism sector.
Designed to showcase true African culture, the centre is a remarkable success story as it comes at a time when most businesses are folding due to illegal sanctions imposed by the West.
Lizzy Ngwenya believes her traditional and craft centre will complement government plans to build a multipurpose conference centre near Victoria Falls International Airport as it wants to develop Victoria Falls town as a permanent conference venue.
She told Chronicle she hoped the leisure centre would satisfy the hunger for a “real African Experience” and attract more tourists into the country.
The hide-out which comprises a rest camp, art and craft centre, chalets, a museum, a traditional centre resembling King Mzilikazi Kraal, all built in traditional style, was opened recently at BH28 about 25km along Victoria Falls-Bulawayo Road just after the airport.
Ngwenya, who is director of the project, said she spent the last three years planning and was happy the project had come to fruition.
She said she was allocated a piece of land by the Hwange Rural District Council whose space was also enough to have a sports centre to be used by neighbouring villages.
“I started Dumisa Arts and Craft Centre in 2011 and now there are 10 members who are helping out,” said Ngwenya.
She said she raised capital to start the project through cross-border trading, selling artistic handiwork in South Africa.
“We have started displaying our craftwork and we want locals to know about the place before foreigners get to know about it. We have started setting braai areas while building the chalets and rest rooms,” said Ngwenya adding she plans to start with six chalets.
“There will be a museum as well and we are building King Mzilikazi kraal as we also want to showcase culture. We want schools to also benefit from the centre, so we will have artifacts and historical information on display.
The craft centre is already complete with beads and different kinds of art work being sold to tourists while King Mzilikazi’s kraal with four huts (amaqhugwana) is already in place.
Traditional dishes are being sold while there is ample space for family outings.
“There will also be a rest camp, a campsite with traditional huts, and playground. I could have started this long back but I had no money. The place will also include a training centre where youths would learn welding, building and other craftwork.
“I survive on craft and believe I can impart these skills by opening a form of a training school where youths can learn the trade.”
The centre serves mostly traditional food including traditional beer and Ngwenya said her ambition was to develop it into a fully fledged tourist resort to serve those who want time out of city life.
There are also cattle pens where some cows are milked in the presence of tourists as a way of showing a true African rural set up.
Glen Kazie, who manages the project, said they were looking forward to serve a huge number of tourists as the place was getting more popular with each passing day.
Hwange West Member of the National Assembly Bekithemba Mpofu who visited the project commended Ngwenya’s efforts.
He challenged the business community to help fund such projects to boost tourism.
“This is a good project, tourists want African life and traditional food so they would love leaving town to explore village life here. It will be like a true African centre with a real African touch to promote culture, traditional food, history and as leaders we have to assist such initiatives,” said Mpofu.
“I will try and get funders for the project so that we help it grow.”
The project resonates with government’s indigenous empowerment programmes and the economic turn around blueprint Zim-Asset.
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