Integration of Rural Inhabitants of Neighbouring Game Reserves by Developing Employable Skills for Mutual Benefit
Year: 2025
Type: book-chapter
Abstract: The Northern Tuli Game Reserve (Notugre) and the wider Bobirwa district area are home to well-known private game reserves in Botswana.These game reserves require employees for various activities, including tourism and hospitality, as well as wildlife management and conservation.Although villagers are poverty-stricken, they are not adequately integrated into these game reserves and the wider area.Hence, the research aims to ascertain why villagers and employers (game reserves) are not integrated and how they can be integrated for mutual benefit.Hence, the purpose of the research is to identify a mechanism for integrating rural communities into the Notugre and wider area for mutual benefit in the village participatory development process.The why and how questions mentioned above are answered through an inductive analysis of qualitative data collected from ten focus group interviews, in which 61 representatives from nine villages surrounding Notugre and the broader area of the Bobirwa district participated.The analysis revealed a mismatch between the local knowledge and skills of villagers and employers in Notugre and the wider Bobirwa district area.These findings shed light on stakeholders, especially rural communities, employers (game reserves), and the government, to take positive actions to bridge the local knowledge and skills gap of villagers, integrating them into Notugre and the broader area of Bobirwa district for mutual benefits.
Institution: Botho University
Language: English
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
OpenAlex ID: W4417192549