“This award is about Hebron, it’s about the North West and it’s about women,” said Lillian Mokoena at a ceremony held to honour her for winning the Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year Award.
Mokoena is the first female winner of the award meant to encourage and sustain the development of small, medium and micro-enterprises.
Mokoena’s cultural village, Gaabo Motho, won her the award and a cash prize of R100 000 — half from SA Tourism and half from North West Parks and Tourism Board.
She is one of nine finalists who represented South Africa at the World Travel Market in London.
Gaabo Motho, Tswana for home to everyone, is built on a hilltop in a small village of Hebron between Ga-Rankuwa and Mabopane in the North West province.
The village is designed to give visitors an authentic taste of African village life. Ndebele huts are painted in traditional geometric patterns and bright colours, while the Tswana huts have diokomelabagwe instead of windows. Diokomelabagwe (used to peep at the in-laws) are small rectangular holes cut out of the mud wall to provide ventilation.
Learning has a long arm at this home of cultures. Guests can see how the Batswana buried their people, their maternity wards and a demonstration of how they arranged their weddings. Braais at the swimming pool area are fun with chickens and goats roaming about, as in many traditional African homes.
Gaabo Motho also boasts a village of mokhukhu (shacks) with a shebeen where visitors enjoy beer or traditional “umqombothi” while being entertained by gumboot dancers. Accommodation is provided in 16 traditional huts, arranged according to the various traditions of each tribe. Prices range from R125 to R250 a night for two people sharing.
“I don’t have enough accommodation though, I can only take 60 people a day sharing,” said Mokoena. She plans to extend the village by building Tsonga, Pedi and Xhosa villages as well as a youth hostel.
The main guest house, Lyken, has eight bedrooms priced at R270 a night each. There are also two conference halls for functions.
Gaabo Motho employs 41 people and works with other tourist venues in surrounding areas.
“When Morula Sun needs cultural dancers, I provide,” said Mokoena. Gaabo Motho has a group of 25 male and female cultural dancers who perform 10 traditional South African dances.
Charles Ndabeni, CEO of the North West Parks and Tourism Board, said Gaabo Motho was a unique finalist because, among other things, “it is black-owned, built in a village and funded by the owners themselves”.
He said winning the award will pose a major challenge to the cultural village to meet global standards.
“They have to address issues of access, customer service, good signage and a good marketing programme,” said Ndabeni.
As part of the prize Gaabo Motho received a two-year membership to the South African Tourism Services Association, which will market the village.
Ndabeni said, “Mokoena symbolises the triumph of the human spirit over adversity. She has come a long way as a businesswoman.”
Information about the awards is available on S A Tourism’s website: