SAWC Milestone 6: Training of the Rivona Raita women’s group, Beit Bridge, Zimbabwe

The organization is also registered as a Non-Profit Organization (NPO) with registration number 046-675-NPO and a Public Benefit Organization (PBO) with registration number 930016093-PBO. The SAWC is provisionally registered with the Department of Education as a private Further Education and Training (FET) College until December 31, 2014, with registration number 2008/FE08/003. The organization's address is Private Bag X315, Hoedspruit, South Africa, and its website is www.wildlifecollege.org. The SAWC's Applied Learning Department and RISE unit conducted a training program for the Rivona Raita women's group in Beit Bridge, Zimbabwe, as part of the Resilience in the Limpopo Basin (RESILIM) project. The training aimed to develop a plan for the Mopane Worm enterprise of the Rivona Raita Women's group. The training took a learning-by-doing approach, engaging with the learners in the actual enterprise development process and providing guiding and assistance. The women selected for the training were from a local women's group, Rivona Raita, which means "to see and to do." The traditional training approach often has little impact outside the classroom, and the "after" classroom impact is normally not measured. The first stage of the training took place as a workshop in September 2014, where the Rivona Raita Women's group, consisting of 18 members, identified Mopane Worms as the product on which to focus their enterprise development support. In addition, a start was made to the concept of Mopane Worm farming in the region. In November 2016, a number of meetings were held in Beit Bridge, including a meeting with the Forestry Commission, the RDC, and other stakeholders. These meetings aimed to organize and gather people for meetings and to gather support for the enterprise development training and workshops. During the workshop in late January 2017, discussions were had on the governance and structure of the enterprise, storage capacity, and technology that can enable the enterprises to sell Mopane Worms out of season when demand and prices may be higher. The Chairperson of the Rivona Raita Women's group showed a possible site for a storage facility if they could obtain enough capital. The training program also emphasized the importance of quality in the Mopane Worm product, as quality is a differentiating factor in product value. Botswana producers have a better reputation for Mopane Worm quality than Zimbabweans, and the Rivona Raita enterprise needs to consider what process to use collectively to improve the quality of their product. The training program aimed to develop a plan for the Mopane Worm enterprise of the Rivona Raita Women's group, focusing on packaging, marketing, and scale. The value chain is rather focused on packaging, marketing, and scale, giving the enterprise more power to choose buyers and target markets.