AGRICULTURAL POTENTIAL

Ngqushwa Local Municipality is primarily a subsistence farming agricultural area with some commercial beef, pineapple and vegetable farming projects.  The municipality has land that is highly suited to the production of pineapples and citrus – a high value cash crop.  The plan is to revive agricultural projects and enterprises in its jurisdiction and to provide an enabling environment that supports the growth of agricultural production, agro processing, agricultural marketing and agritourism.

The Ngqushwa Local Municipality’s agricultural potential are:
• Great Fish and Keiskamma Rivers
• Coastal grazing - Beef
• Alluvial terraces - irrigation: Pineapples, Citrus, Vegetables,
• Tomatoes (tunnels)
• Dryland Crops: Chicory, Cotton, Sugarbeet, Olives

TOURISM POTENTIAL

The Provincial Growth and Development Strategy and the Amathole District Municipality’s Growth and Development Strategy have identified Tourism and Conservation as two of the most viable economic sectors to be developed in the area.  Currently, there are some tourism enterprises in existence in the area.  Most of these enterprises are located along the coast.

The area includes perishable production farms, holiday resorts and communal areas benefiting from employment in the tourist sector, income opportunities through the marketing of arts and craft.

Tourism assets are:
• Heritage sites throughout Local Municipality
• Interesting history – Xhosa, English and German Settlers, Frontier Wars
• Underdeveloped and unspoiled coastline (Hamburg and Bhirha)
• Unspoiled estuaries
• Great Fish and Keiskamma Rivers
• Double Drift Game Reserve

Ngqushwa Local Municipality is planning to grow the tourism sector to enable the establishment of new tourism enterprises by providing policy, legislative, marketing and partnership building that will create an enabling environment for tourism development.

ARTS AND CRAFTS
Keiskamma Art Project- Hamburg
Traditionally, women in the area produced beadwork and articles made from shells collected on the beaches that were sold to tourists and visitors during the holiday seasons.  In the Hamburg area the Keiskamma Art Project was initiated by Carol Hofmeyr in 2000 in the village of Hamburg, Eastern Cape.  Jan Chalmers (Oxford, UK) and Jacky Jezewski (Brantome, France) helped establish the project.  The project’s initial aims were to teach art to the women of the village and provide them with income and to generate skills.

It has been instrumental in working with local women (latterly more men have joined) to produce innovative embroidered, beaded and patchwork art such as the Keiskamma Tapestry that is now on display in Parliament in Cape Town.  There is also the Keiskamma Altarpiece that has toured internationally on-display after first being displayed at the Grahamstown Cathedral during the National Arts Festival in 2005.  Furthermore, an art centre has been established in Hamburg for the tourists to savour on their visit to the area.  In addition, embroidered products are sold to curio outlets in the region.

Birha Arts and Crafts - Wesley
Birha Arts and Crafts is a Manufacturing Furniture Factory which has been operating for more than 23 years. The factory specializes in furniture manufacturing, crafts, hand woven homemade carpets and sculptured rugs. Contact Jacko: 040677 1024.

ENVIRONMENTAL POTENTIAL

Ngqushwa Local Municipality has a great deal of environmental potential.  The main areas are:
• Undeveloped and unspoiled coastline
• Unspoiled estuaries
• Great Fish and Keiskamma Rivers
• Coastal and freshwater fish and shellfish resources
• Seaweed suitable for harvesting
• Subtropical thicket vegetation
• Double Drift Game Reserve
• Aloes for tapping and harvesting
• Indigenous medicinal plants