By Wezi Tjaronda WINDHOEK The Khaidako Daweb Community Development Group in MaltahÃÆ’Æ‘Æ‘ÃÆ”šÃ‚¶he has received money to carry out a tourism land degradation project. Established in 2005, the project aims at improving the conditions of the residents of MaltahÃÆ’Æ‘Æ‘ÃÆ”šÃ‚¶he through community-based natural resource management, community-based tourism and craft development. The rationale behind the project is that by empowering communities in the village to make decisions about their natural resources, and to take advantage of new economic opportunities offered, they would improve their standards of living. KDCG Project Coordinator Petrus Schmidt told New Era yesterday the project will establish an information centre, create a nature park, a coffee shop, a Nama cultural centre and tourist accommodation facilities. Other expected outcomes of the project include two craft producer groups, which will sell their products in a financially sustainable manner, said Schmidt. The project, “Combating land degradation and poverty through green space development and community-based tourism” received about N$260 000 from the Global Environmental Facility/Small Grants Programme which was established in 2003. The programme has given money to some 56 projects countrywide. MaltahÃÆ’Æ‘Æ‘ÃÆ”šÃ‚¶he is a gateway to tourist attractions in the south, which Schmidt said the project wants to capitalise on. “MaltahÃÆ’Æ‘Æ‘ÃÆ”šÃ‚¶he is a tourist area. Tourists pass through here to go to Sesriem and other areas. We want them to stop here first before they go anywhere else,” he said. As a rural settlement, MaltahÃÆ’Æ‘Æ‘ÃÆ”šÃ‚¶he offers very few employment opportunities to its people and the project, according to Schmidt, will employ between 10 and 15 local people in the beginning. With the growth in the tourism sector, the project believes that community-based tourism and craft development offer new opportunities to rural communities to improve their livelihoods. The key objectives of the project are to establish and manage a nature park to reverse land degradation in the village and boost its image, as well as to establish and market community-based tourism enterprises. The handing over ceremony was held at MaltahÃÆ’Æ‘Æ‘ÃÆ”šÃ‚¶he in the Gibeon constituency on Tuesday.