The Matsila Community Development Trust was established by the Matsila Royal Family, in consultation with the community, to facilitate and coordinate socio-economic development activities within Ha-Matsila Village and the surrounding communities.

The project was funded by the National Lottery Board by approximately R54 million three years ago and aims to curb the unemployment in the area. At this stage, about 500 people from the area are employed at the project.  Women are involved in many projects, including wood carving and sculptures that range from wooden drums, walking sticks and spherical calabashes to spoons and other wooden decorative ornaments.

Agricultural projects include cattle, goat, sheep and chicken farming, the making of clay cooking pots and the cutting of bushes.

Although the project started small, it has now grown bigger than before. The spokesperson added that, through these projects, several community members from Matsila, De Hoop, Majosi, Bungeni, Nkuzana and Masia are now able to put food on the table. “This is a blessing to the women, as they never expected that their project would go this far,” he added.

According one woman, Ms Maria Siphugu, their days were difficult before being employed at the project, but now things are running smoothly. “We want to encourage other women to emulate what we are doing,” she said. “When we joined the project, we did not know that one day we would find ourselves being able to provide for our families. Things were difficult when we started, but through hard work and commitment, we managed to make the project sustainable.”

She added that all her children were still at school and they solely depended on the income from the project.

Chief Livhuwani Matsila said he was excited about the assistance from the National Lottery Board. “With such help, the sky is the limit for us,” he added. He said he could see the project employing more than 1 000 workers in the near future.