Visiting a Local Village

Most tourists to Victoria Falls stay at one of the "western style" hotels and never venture out to see what the community looks like. So one morning, we visited a local village. The poverty in Africa really became evident. It's quite apparent why the work being done by Bono, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Clinton Foundation is so important.

The village we visited is rather well off since the government paid them to take land for a nearby electric generating plant and the power lines. I'm certain that more remote villages are even more needy. The village does have a school that operates to a certain age level and a medical clinic that is staffed two days a week.

A major source of income for the villagers is a souvenir market they operate. A number of the villagers make baskets, wood carvings, and paintings to sell. We felt somewhat ashamed to bargain since the needs of the people were so great. On the other hand, they are so pushy at trying to sell us stuff, they actually alienate some tourists and hurt themselves in the process. This is one case where a "soft selling" technique and reasonable prices would net the villagers a lot more revenue.