Trails Tested & Business Plan Produced

Its been an intensive few months since July 2008. We have walked and cycled each of the proposed trails, with fantastic support from interested local service providers - thank you. Even in their undeveloped state, doing each trail was a unique and truly enjoyable experience.

We also examined the competition, analyzed feasibility from social environmental and economic perspectives, looked at management and implementation from every angle and finally integrated all of this information into a Business Plan.

The Business Plan describes the development over five years of a Trails Division within the Cape West Coast Biosphere Reserve Section 21 Company, a non-profit company with a globally recognized mandate (UNESCO) to care for people and the environment in the CWCBR. The Trails Division will be operated as a profit centre within the CWCBR S21 Company, with profits directed towards achieving their goals. Finances will be ring-fenced to make it easy to split off the profit-centre as a seperate business later on, bring in partners, encourage investment, etc. Projections are that the Trails Division will bring significant and meaningful social, environmental and economic benefits to the CWCBR.

The results of each of the five phases leading up to phase 6 and the development of the Business Plan, were presented at monthly Board meetings which allowed us to ensure the Board was "on board" so to speak with what we proposed. The Business Plan was presented to the CWCBR Board at their year end function in December 2008.

We are now in phase 7 of the feasibility study, namely the wrap up and hand over phase. As part of this phase we will, as promised, hold two stakeholder workshops to provide feedback. The CWCBR is keen to move rapidly ahead with implementation and are already embarking upon a fund raising effort to raise the necessary capital.

• Watch this space for information on the stakeholder workshops to be held in February 2009.
• If you are interested in helping to develop the trails by participating in trial runs please contact us, so we can keep you posted on developments.
• If you would like to see the reports on each of the phases, the business plan or any other information - please contact Sheryl Ozinsky (Feasibility Study Project Manager; sherylozinsky@iafrica.com) or Janette du Toit (CWCBR Manager; jdutoit@capebiosphere.co.za).