Institute for African Renaissance Studies (IARS)
Kgautswane community is a remote rural area situated on the borderline of Lim
popo Province and Mpumalanga. The former Technikon S.A. introduced an Integrated Community Building Programme to Kgautswane. The main aim was to make a contribution to community development through the promotion of social reinvestment of skills, home-based care and economic
self-sufficiency. The project developmental activities are spearheaded by IARS as a university to community and community to university knowledge creation initiative. The Department of Economics in the College of Economics and Management Sciences is a
valuable partner in the venture and assists in offering integrated leadership and governance model for rural communities.
The project started in 2006 when the then Institute for African Renaissance Studies and the Department of Economics in the College of Economics and Management Sciences visited the Kgautswane Community Centre three times in order to interact with the community members and to identify their needs. It was indeed a learning experience; the following needs were identified:
- Agriculture
- Tourism
- Mining
- Communication
- Business management
- Education and Development
- Community home based care
- Computer literacy.
Furthermore, IARS and Department of Economics in the College of Economics and Management Sciences have jointly participated in the capacity building programme culminating in training of 15 members of Kgautswane Community members in Business management skills. The one month training programme focused on the management of Guest houses which will be used by tourist in future.
Last modified: Thu May 25 05:01:35 SAST 2023