Private Bag 5132
Umtata 5100
Eastern Cape
Tel. 27 47 531 2851
Fax: 27 47 531 2853
Contact: Mr Navy Simukonda, Director

The Transkei Land Service Organization was established in 1991 as a response to the frustrations of disposed landless people, a situation aggravated by the absence of a land administration system and the bleak prospects for local economic development in rural TRANSKEI.

Transkei is the former independent homeland Black National State within South Africa, part of Eastern Cape Province from 1994; area 43,808 sq km/16,914 sq mi. The largest of South Africa's homelands, it extends northwest from the Great Kei River, on the coast of Cape Province, to the border of Nata . Transkei comprises a population of + 4.5 million people and is regarded as the poorest part of the Eastern Cape - in itself the poorest province in South Africa.

After six years of re-incorporation into South Africa, it bears the scars of decades of botched rural planning schemes, utter neglect and extremely decadent Bnatustan ruling elite. The principle legacy of all these episodes is ongoing economic stagnation, acute landlessness and an unemployment rate that is exacerbated by the ongoing retrenchments from the industrial centres and mines of South Africa . Furthermore, poor homeland policies have worked against the improvement of rural life and livelihoods of the rural poor.

Mission

TRALSO's vision is to be a dynamic and innovative land-rights based and development service organization aimed at improving the quality of life of rural poor people of Transkei.

Advocacy and Policy

Workshop on Sharing Experiences, Planning and Training on Participatory Consultations

Community Empowerment Facility

The Wildcoast Empowerment and Monitoring Project

Advocate and support the implementation of equitable agrarian dispensation. Provide intellectual and technical capabilities for rural communities and their institutions engaged in agrarian reform.

• Explore and advance appropriate and innovative organisational forms and knowledge based system in rural development;
• Promote and support an open and transparent political and administrative dispensation;
• Implement and demonstrate innovative models of sustainable rural livelihoods and land use practices;
• Support and promote local economic development of rural communities.

Activities:

• Make a knowledge-based contribution to land reform policies;
• Support equitable access ownership to land by rural communities of Transkei;.
• Support the development of institutional capacity of rural communities;
• Render effective, efficient and accountable service delivery in land and agrarian reform;
• Facilitate sustainable productive use of land to improve livelihoods of communities;
• Develop innovative and sustainable models of land use practices.

TRALSO works with rural communities and individuals seeking access to land. Core programmes are:

1. Land Reform Programme: Land restitution, land tenure and land redistribtion.
2. Land use and livelihoods programme: Land use planning, land care and rural livelihoods
3. Gender programme: Women on land, HIV/AIDS, Rural women lobby and advocacy and Global family.

Tralso renders its services to communities in the Eastern Cape Districts of Alfed Nzo, Amathiole, Christ Hani, OR Tambo and Ukhahlamba, as well as Kokstad and Matatiele, and other surrounding area.

TRALSO operates in the land reform and rural development sector, including HIV/AIDS and Local Economic Development (ED). It has three core programmes. It renders its services to communities in the Eastern Cape Districts of Alfed Nzo, Amathiole, Christ Hani, OR Tambo and Ukhahlamba, as well as Kokstad and Matatiele, and other surrounding area.

Apart from assisting community land claims, it provides aftercare services and support through its Land Use Planning and Livelihoods programme in 5 communities the main development initiatives being:

•  Community food gardens;
•  Eco-tourism projects;
•  Poultry production;
•  Environmental awareness and tree planting;
•  Gender awareness and development initiatives;
•  Income generating activities, baking, sewing, brick and fence making.

Rights Enshrined but Rights Denied - Presentation by TRALSO at WSF, Nairobi PDF