Mehloding trail builds community legacy

Nestled at the foot of the majestic Southern Drakensberg mountains, the small town of Matatiele is telling a powerful story of how tourism is transforming lives.

It is a story about how a community can build its own future from grassroots efforts to the towering heights. 

“Tourism has truly changed the lives of the people of Matatiele.”

This assertion was made by Mehloding Trust co-ordinator, Tsepo Lesholu, who spoke to Vuk’uzenzele as South Africa commemorates Tourism Month in September.

The Trust was born out of a vision in the 1990s where a united community worked together on communal land to create local jobs.

It has since evolved into one of the Eastern Cape town’s flagship tourism offerings. It boasts of a hiking trail, chalets and a guest house situated on the Southern end of the Drakensberg.

The initiative has created 17 jobs. “The idea was to stimulate the local economy through this initiative and create something of value for the people of Matatiele.

“What worked in our favour is that the plan to transition towards tourism had a lot of buy-in from traditional leaders. It also had the buy-in of local communities in the villages,” he said.

Mehloding is a story of a community taking ownership of their own development, with locals employed from the construction phase as builders, to the operational phase with community members working as cleaners, hostesses and tour guides.

Even the materials used to build the guest house, and the food and other supplies, are locally sourced.

“From the beginning we said: if we have tourists, they must be guided by local tour guides; if we are sharing our stories, then those stories must be told by us; if we have a hiking trail, the guides must be from Matatiele.

“Even when we chose the name of the Trust, we came up with it together. We chose Mehloding because as you hike the mountains, there’s no need to carry a water bottle; you will cross streams with fresh water flowing from the Lesotho Highlands. The name Mehloding means ‘sources of water,’” Lesholu said.

Mehloding is also part of the Maloti-Drakensberg Transfrontier Project, a cross-border initiative between South Africa and Lesotho that protects the Maloti-Drakensberg Mountains while supporting community development.

The region includes uKhahlamba-Drakensberg Park (a World Heritage Site), Golden Gate Highlands National Park, and Lesotho’s Sehlabathebe National Park.

Known as southern Africa’s most important water catchment, it supplies Gauteng and other regions through two major projects – the Lesotho Highlands Water Project and the Tugela-Vaal Scheme. 

The project promotes conservation, tourism and cultural heritage while uplifting local communities.

Scholarships through tourism for locals

Through the tourism initiative, the Trust has expanded its impact by launching a scholarship fund for learners.

Since its inception in 2010, the fund has supported at least 100 academically promising learners to attend a prestigious school in the area, paying for school fees, boarding, uniforms and other learning materials.

“These children have gone on to become accountants, engineers, lawyers and doctors, while others are pursuing academia. Tourism has truly changed our lives,” Lesholu said proudly.

As for the future, the co-ordinator said the vision is to not only expand the tourism business but also deepen the benefits for the local community.

“The dream is to add more offerings to the existing hiking trail and guesthouse so that we can become fully self-sufficient and not rely on government funding.

“In that way, we will be able to add even more value to the community, and they can benefit more from Mehloding,” Lesholu said.

Government support

Mehloding has received financial and infrastructure support from several levels of government including the Department of Tourism, the National Lotteries Commission and the Matatiele Local Municipality.

The municipality’s spokesperson, Ndabuko Masumpa, explained the local authority’s role.

“Mehloding has been accommodated at municipal offices for over 15 years at no cost. For more than a decade, the Municipality has supported Mehloding’s annual September Tourism and Heritage Month event, which boosts occupancy rates and visitor numbers.

“Through these efforts, the Municipality has demonstrated its commitment to growing Mehloding into a sustainable, community-driven tourism hub,” Masumpa concluded.

Did you know?

Maloti-Drakensberg Park is a World Heritage Site due to its outstanding natural beauty 
and its exceptional cultural significance, as recognised by UNESCO.

For more information on Mehloding Community Trust and its tourism offerings contact the trust at 039 737 3289 or email mehloding@telkomsa.net  
The Department of tourism can be reached at www.tourism.gov.za 
Visit the Matatiele Local Municipality at www.matatiele.gov.za