The Shewula Mountain Camp and Nature Reserve is a product of cooperation
between the Shewula community under chief Mbandzamane II and the
neighbouring reserves of Mlawula and Mbuluzi.
 
The community set aside 2650ha of land for conservation (the Shewula Nature
Reserve) and has a tourism camp.
The Eco-cultural tourism programme (Shewula Mountain Camp) is the central
component of the CBNRM, the others sub-programmes are:
- Wildlife and Protected areas programme: establishment and protection
of the Shewula Nature Reserve and other resources in the Community
including wetlands.
- Forestry programme: development of the Nursery for indigenous plants
(to be used in the community for reforestation, firewood plantations,
springs and soil protection)
- Water Programme: maintenance and protection of springs and wells.
- Soil programme: restoration of degraded soils and sustainable
agriculture programme.
- Wind power programme: establishment of a 250kw wind turbine to
generate electricity as an income for the Community, especially for the
Orphans Programme.
- Orphans Care programme: development of a community-based system of
social welfare for the orphans and vulnerable children and their
care-takers (mostly widows and elderly people).
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The Camp consists of 4 confortable roundavel huts, with 5
beds each (2 bunk beds and 1 double), sleeping a total of 24 persons.
A boma with a fully equiped kitchen, dining area and a store room and a
separate ablution facility with flush toilets and hot showers.
There are facilities for self catering meals as well as traditional menu
prepared by the friendly camp staff. You may as well join the camp staff in
preparing these mouthwatering Swazi menus.
Refrigeration, parrafin lanterns to light the darkness of the night, bedding
are provided.
Most of the food comes from the community, so traditional organic swazi
menus are offered. A conference room will be available soon, with all the
facilities for workshop and conference that will accomodate at-least 60
people.
The Shewula community are a friendly agricultural people,
with traditional thatch and stone houses dotted neat fields of maize, cotton
and vegetables. They encourage visitors to their area to enjoy the
incredible view, gain an insight into traditional Swazi lifestyles and
appreciate the natural splendour of the Lubombo conservancy.
In the Community still survives the "ubuntu" tradition, based on the
solidarity and all the people are equal, in the "ubuntu" tradition you are a
person only with and through other people.
In the Community all the families have access to the land
and to the other natural resources and this free access is still a good
weapon against poverty.
But the Community now has to face the terribile emergency of HIV/AIDS which
is threatening its future: since 1997 there are several project in the
Community aimed to assist the vulnerable families.
All the projects are part of a a wider Community-Based Natural Resources
Programme, aimed at securing sustainable development for the entire
community and at alleviating poverty for the most vulnerable segment of her
population, especially orphans, widows, elderly people.
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