Covane Community Lodge Opens Under The Management Of The Barra Resorts Group

With a capacity to accommodate 34 people, the Covane Community Lodge reopened its doors in October 2012, after extensive renovations that allows it to provide services of international standards.

This is an investment of the Canhane community, estimated at 22.5 million meticais, on the basis of funds allocated by the Mozambican government and the Ford Foundation. Besides enhancing some of the existing units, the renovation has added four chalets overlooking the Massingir dam, a restaurant-bar, a boat safari and two boats that give tourists the opportunity to tour and spend the night along the elephant river lake.

It is located south of the Limpopo National Park, on the banks of the Massingir Dam, in Gaza province, approximately 14 km to the east of Massingir town and 7 km from the Canhane village. So it is about 4-5 hours drive from Maputo city and is on the Giriyondo border route which links the Limpopo National Park to the Kruger National Park. Thus, the Canhane Community Lodge is at the centre of a major new tourist route linking the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park to the tourism products of the coast in Xai-Xai, Inhambane and Vilanculos.

This project establishes a real and practical example of partnership between the community and the private sector in the tourism industry in Mozambique and can be used as a model for replication.

The community holds 100% of the ownership title and signed a management contract with the Barra Resort group for a period of 10 years. The Barra Resort group owns several resorts that are renowned nationally and internationally, such as Barra Lod.

Impact of Covane Lodge on the community

In general, the project aims at maximizing socio-economic benefits from tourism to the Canhane community. This objective will be achieved in parallel with the preservation of natural resources to ensuring sustainable development in the long term.

The specific objectives are:

1. Support the Canhane community to establish a good asset of high value

2. Alleviate absolute poverty through tourism
a) Increase revenue sources through income from the Lodge
b) Increase the number of jobs
c) Increase the purchase of local products and services
d) Manage revenue through cultural tourism activities

3. Improving the capacity of local human resources
a) Training of local people in various areas of hospitality and or related such as the case of floors, reception, accounting,bar, restaurant management, guide services, construction and more.

Courtesy of Conservação Transfronteiriça
Published by the Mozambican Ministry of Tourism
Editor: Dr Bartolomeu Soto