Income Generation Through Sustainable Devils’ Claw Harvesting: Official Project HandOver to the Community

The Devil’s Claw (Harpagophytum procumbens) is known for its medicinal properties that treat inflammation, and sore joints. For years, it has been used by indigenous people and has earned exports to the larger international pharmaceutical industry. In June 2019, The Namibia Nature Foundation (NNF) officially commenced the implementation of the “Income Generation Through Sustainable Devils’ Claw Harvesting in 2 Omaheke Conservancies”, Eiseb and Omuramba ua Mbinda. The project was funded by the Social Security Commission (SSC) through its Development Fund and co-funded by FNB Namibia through the FirstRand Namibia Foundation during 2018/2019. The two conservancies, Eiseb and Omuramba ua Mbinda were gazetted between 2009 and 2011.
The overall goal of the project is to promote self-employment, strengthen conservancy management structures and their ability to manage natural resources in line with the CBNRM programme, to support the better delivery of the Devil’s Claw harvesting project by assisting conservancy managers with quality control and buying point coordination, and to support game guards’ resource monitoring activities.
“Through this project intervention, a total of 139 beneficiaries reached on different levels at annual general meetings, participation in game guard trainings, financial trainings and Devils Claw harvesting trainings. Furthermore, the project’s medium-term impact was to ensure high financial accountability and a transparent system being implemented and also assisting the conservancies with compliance in risk management.” – Senior Community-Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) Coordinator at NNF – Mr. Nabot Mbeeli.
A Sustainability Plan (SP) was developed alongside a benefit sharing formula as a section in the SP as one of the key requirements for compliance with the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism (MEFT). The project came to an end in June 2022. At the official project hand-over to the communities held on the 16th and 17th of November 2022 in Eiseb and Omuramba ua Mbinda, representatives from NNF, SSC, and project beneficiaries discussed the outcomes of the implemented activities and lessons learnt.
During the project period of three harvesting seasons, about 11 613kg was sold from both Conservancies, this is almost 6 times more than set out by the project team and project beneficiaries, a major achievement that the project had not anticipated. An estimated total income of N$ 672 800.00 was generated of which N$627 400.00 went directly to the harvesters, contributing to household income levels. The remaining N$46 400.00 went into maintaining already constraint conservancies activities to ensure functionality of conservancies and continuity of Devils Claw support. Part of theofficial project hand-over to the community, the SSC was presented with the fully-constructed storage units (one per conservancy) which also functions as buying point facilities.
“This is outstanding work from the NNF and especially what the project beneficiaries managed to accomplish. We are so pleased to see how projects such as these are successfully implemented, the project activities and the outcomes presented in the final report are definitely worth noting.” DF Manager – Ms. Olga Katjiuongua.