Giyani in Limpopo is home to some of the poorest people in South Africa — the majority of the residents are unemployed and live in abject poverty. For women, especially, carving out a livelihood can be very difficult in a region that is short of opportunities.
Yet Pat Dlamini, the owner of the Xisaka guest house in the rural town situated in the north-eastern region of Limpopo, has become a shining example to the rest of the women in her community.
“I consider the local community first. It’s my wish to expose visitors to the region’s real Tsonga-people and culture,” she said. “I created the establishment with the local Tsonga culture in mind and by doing so I’m also helping my community.”
The Giyani entrepreneur single-handedly built Xisaka into a thriving enterprise with an occupancy rate of more than 70%. Her guest house boasts six thatched en suite rooms, a spacious conference venue, pool and braai area. Local tourism students are given the opportunity to do their internships at Xisaka and Dlamini’s philosophy is that she only buys her fresh produce from local suppliers.
Her initiative also created 20 jobs for her community during the construction of Xisaka. The paving, thatching and building work, as well as the suites’ beautiful wardrobe doors and headboards — made from hand-woven reed mats — were all done by the local people of Giyani. The guest house’s unique bar counter in the conference venue is also the work of a local artisan.
Although her business is now prospering, making a profit is not enough for Dlamini. Her involvement in the community started in 1985 when, as member of the Irish Club, she built a house for the abandoned children of Giyani. She was recently one of 13 women who volunteered to “adopt” a school in Limpopo with a 0% matric pass rate.
“We found that the learners couldn’t even afford the bare necessities like bread, soap and toothpaste, so we donated some of these essentials to the school in an attempt to alleviate the children’s discomfort.”
Dlamini knows her community and cares deeply for tradition. Pointing at the conference venue, she says, “See those trees growing out of the roof? I instructed the architect to design the conference venue around them. In Tsonga tradition, when people talk about what matters, they sit in the shade of a big tree at the centre of the homestead. I wanted my conference venue built in the same fashion.”
Five months after opening her doors to guest for the first time, Dlamini was chosen as an Emerging Tourism Entrepreneur of the Year Award finalist.