Situated in Lupane, 2km from the Bulawayo-Victoria Falls highway, the Lupane Women’s Crafts Centre is a lucrative centre for basket making of all shapes and sizes. The centre has a membership 3 400 people from Lupane District. Of these 2400 are women and 1000 men. It is used for making crafts including baskets, floor cushions, trays, hats and stools which are made from the local resources such as ilala palm, sisal and wood. The bulk of products are mainly exported to America, Canada and Holland. The Lupane Women’s Crafts Centre has potential to be widely marketed to local and international tourists. Construction of the Centre was done with funds received from the Bernard Sunley Foundation, Sulzeberger Foundation, British Embassy, American Embassy, Canadian Fund Development Agency and the American Embassy small grants. Since 2004 Lupane has received institutional and program funding from Liechtenstein Development Services (LED) and occasional but valuable projects support from the Canadian Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI). Management of the facility: It is a local organization which is run by the women with the assistance of a secretariat of 17 and 13 members of the Board of Trustees. The center is managed by a board drawn from members who are assisted by a technical team of employees (Manager, training coordinators, marketing officer and accountant) who manage the center on a day to day basis.

Accommodation – The centre has accommodation facilities which can carter for 25 people at any given time. Access: The center is easily accessible by road, along the Bulawayo Harare highway.

Amenities – N/A

Attractions – The main attraction is the unique basketry that the women produce. Weaving days are also a great attraction where one can see more than 300 women weaving – synonymous with bees in a bee hive. The accommodation and cafeteria also provide a convenient stop over for visitors travelling to and from Vic Falls or Binga. Activities – Tours around the craft center and surrounding villages where women come from
Women at Lupane Crafts center weaving crafts for export

Awareness – the center is highly marketed through the website, http://www.lupanewomenscenter.org Main Challenges: Limited visitor inflows Future Prospects: The plan is to put up lodges a training centre, conference facilities and a shop in the remaining extent of the land. The place is situated close to the Vic falls/Binga Bulawayo highway and has quite good potential for traveler’s enroute to Vic falls or Binga to provide visitor stop over facilities. In this venture the Centre is looking for funds to set up the structures the women are prepared to contribute the thatching grass and labour where possible.

 Binga Craft Centre is a community based organization, linked to more than 4000 Tonga Women craft producers living in the Binga district. The Binga Craft Centre was established in 1989 and has since transformed into a members' association comprising 33 affiliate clubs with a total of 4 000 women. All the women are basket weavers. The Craft Centre, located in the center of Binga town serves as an outlet

This facility is situated next to the Siamuloba on the Sebungwe River. This camp was also meant to provide accommodation for the fishermen and to serve as an additional accommodation facility to accommodate overflows and budget tourists from Siamuloba camp. There are four huts which have since dilapidated and were not able to be roofed due to lack of funds. Ablution facilities had also been built. The community cited costs involved as the main drawback to the resuscitation this facility.

Future Prospects: There is an arrangement that once the two camps are put up, the community manages the smaller camp (Kamata base) whilst a private expert partner manages the larger high end camp on behalf of the community.

Siamuloba center is a fishing camp established in 2005 and funded through the Campfire Development Fund (CDF). It is situated on the shores of the Sebungwe river.

Infrastructure: The original structures comprise two lodges under thatch, a gazebo/kitchen area and an ablution facility. A swimming pool overlooking the Sebungwe River has also been built. The buildings at this camp are dilapidated and need to be renovated. The site is connected to an electricity transmission line. The electricity transformer was stolen hence there is no electricity supply at the moment. Water reticulation system is not in place although the plans were to draw water from the Sebungwe river. Management of the Facility: The camp management is not in place, the Trust that was originally earmarked to oversee the management of the camp was never registered. The committee is no longer fully constituted and there is no responsible person to run the camp at the moment. The camp is manned by a caretaker-family who has limited information on the status and plans of the business.

Accommodation: The two lodges can accommodate a maximum of 8 people. There is adequate camping ground to accommodate more than 50 campers in small tents.

Amenities: No visitor amenities are in place. Access: The camp is about 26km of the Lupane Binga Road through Manjolo or Siachilaba business centers. The road is rough and one needs a rough terrain vehicle to get to the camp. It is regularly serviced by the RDC and hence the place is fairly easily accessible. The place can also be accessed by boat from Mulibizi Resort of Binga Town both within 15-20 minutes drive on a speed boat. Activities: The main activity on the camp is fishing, game viewing and boating on Sebungwe river or Lake Kariba.

Attractions: The river, lake, fishing and game are the main attractions. Tonga culture could also be incorporated into the set of attractions. Awareness and

Marketing: There are no efforts to market this facility. Challenges: The CDF funding period ended before the full development plans could be implemented. The RDC had pledged to continue with the project but not much development has taken place ever since CDF. The infrastructure is dilapidated and there have been incidences of theft and vandalism although now there is a full time care taker family. Patronage is low at the moment.

Future Prospects: The facility is strategically located and has a potential to be resuscitated into one of the best community tourism camps on Lake Kariba. The communities are still very keen on the project and the RDC believes the site has potential to bring in revenue to the community. There are opportunities for multipurpose use camp – fishing, cultural village, researchers’ camp etc.