A rural project that started three years ago as a way of conserving and looking after the country’s wetlands has become the toast of the country after scooping first prize in the Best Project Award competition. The Mutale Working for Wetlands project has been hailed as changing the lives of all involved.

Project members and all stakeholders involved gathered at the Tshandama Art and Craft Centre to celebrate their achievements. During the celebrations, the hardworking project members were awarded certificates in recognition of their dedication and commitment to their work.

The Best Project Award was initiated by Working for Wetlands in 2007 to reward excellence in project implementation in the programme.

Implemented by Rip Zone, under the leadership of Marius Snyders and project managers David Neguyuni and Hector Muvhenzhe, the Mutale project is the overall winner for 2008/9 financial year, with the Verloren Vallei and KZN North projects as runners-up. Mutale was a runner-up in the 2007/8 financial year and this year the project has demonstrated that there is always room for improvement.

Forty eight people are temporarily employed by the project, with the number of indirect beneficiaries estimated at 240. Besides the direct income from wages, workers are also learning skills that will provide them with exit opportunities through activities such as brick making and vegetable cultivation. There is also upward movement through the ranks, with two former contractors now employed as assistant project managers.

Speaking during the occasion, Snyders said things were not that easy when they started the project three years ago. He said despite all the challenges, they had risen up and worked extremely hard and had achieved a lot so far. “Winning the competition did not come as a surprise, as we laboured hard and we sincerely thank all stakeholders involved in the project for making this possible,” he said.

Ms Nkhumeleni Tshipandu is one of those who benefited from the project. “Having been unemployed for many years, I had already given up hope on life, not knowing that one day my life would change. Today I am not shy to stand and testify before these people that the project has made a big difference in my life. With the money I get from this, I am able to take my children to school which I would not have afforded back then,” said Tshipandu.

The Mutale project rehabilitates wetlands in a rural part of Limpopo, about 30km from Thohoyandou. The wetlands are used for grazing and subsistence agriculture and therefore have high livelihood value to the communities surrounding them. They also influence the quality of water flowing into the Mutale river, an important tributary of the Luvuvhu River, which in turn flows into the Limpopo River.