Its owners, Robert More, James Delaney and Canny Hlatshwayo, are so keen for the project to work, that local chiefs were invited to bless the centre in a more private ceremony earlier in the month. One or two traditionalists were somewhat saddened at the ceremony, explaining that the ancestors could not be called on before an audience in a strange place. He's otherwise pleased with the job opportunities the centre will bring. According to Delaney, at least 31 full-time jobs will be created, while about 100 traditional dance groups and choirs in the vast Bushbuckridge area will be able to showcase their talent on a rotating basis. The market area at the centre will sell locally made traditional arts and crafts to visitors, generating income for another 20 self-employed artisans.
Visitors can also go on either midday tours, educational tours or enjoy an evening festival.
The evening festival will treat guests to choir music, a traditional feast with the accompanying traditional beer, dancing, and story telling. The educational tours will take guests on a tour of the village, where the resident family will relate their history and customs, show off outfits, weapons, and ornate beadwork and demonstrate farming methods and traditional healing. The midday tours include a visit with a sangoma and a full traditional meal served from great pots over open fires. If you ignore the little discrepancies, like feather dusters turned into head gear or the ever present cell phones, any visit to the site is a treat.