• The tendency for poor and marginalised groups to be excluded from formal-sector enterprises, which in turn denies them access to “classic” TVET programmes, such as apprenticeships and technical training colleges.
• High levels of voluntary and involuntary migration amongst the disadvantaged, as they pursue seasonal employment, flee war or unrest, seek temporary help from relatives or compatriots, take on unexpected family responsibilities and, often enough, run into trouble with bureaucracy.
• The nature of poverty itself, which is increasingly being recognised as not merely a lack of wealth but a complex syndrome including low (or no) income, poor health, little education, reduced physical security, and high vulnerability to risks and unforeseen demands - all of which

• Careful selection of target groups and programme participants
• Accessibility and affordability for the target groups
• Skills that lead to immediate economic activity
• Training that opens up long-term career paths.

• be conducted in decentralised locations, i.e. wherever the prospective trainees are
• have low fees
• have relaxed admission requirements in terms of formal qualifications, previous work experience or age limits
• be flexible in timing, to accommodate shift-workers and seasonal employees
• be modularised, so that trainees can leave and re-enter at intervals
• recognise uncertificated prior leaning

• focus on skills currently in demand by employers or consumers in the local economy
• incorporate job-placement or enterprise development services for newly-qualified graduates
• be embedded in the local environment, including business linkages, information channels, community networks and local authorities

• certify partial competencies, which are portable between programmes, thereby promoting step-by-step acquisition of high-level skills over time
• have credibility in the private sector, owing to its job-relevance and high exit-standards
• link to other providers of formal or informal training
• include life skills (such as information-gathering, decision-making, problem-solving, goal-setting, relationship-building, communication, conflict management and leadership) that provide a foundation for life-long learning and employability

“Young lions, the warriors of the barricades – yesterday’s heroes, today’s embarrassment”.

So wrote Charlene Smith, in the Mail & Guardian newspaper on 24 March 2000, of youths who made up the Self-Defence Units and Self-Protection Units affiliated to the ANC and IFP during the 1990s. Having fought as irregular paramilitaries in the sprawling urban townships of Gauteng in the run-up to South Africa’s first democratic election in 1994, these young men and women found themselves disavowed shortly afterwards, when their violent methods became anathema to political leaders and the public at large. Now shunned by their communities, many of these youths turned to crime and substance abuse - and might have stayed there had it not been for a groundbreaking initiative launched by the National Peace Accord Trust (NPAT) in 1995.

NPAT is a non-profit organisation that seeks to bring about social healing and reconciliation in South Africa, thereby restoring stable, peaceful and healthy community life. To this end, it implements restorative training and development programmes in communities torn apart by conflict, with a particular focus on formerly-militarised youths, victims of trauma and youths at risk. Central to many of these interventions is the eco-therapy trail – a guided trek through a wilderness area during which participants are assisted by a trained therapist to reflect upon their lives, come to terms with traumatic experiences and take a more positive, pro-active view of themselves and society.

A skeptic might consider NPAT’s approach to be mere wishful thinking. But there is strong evidence that the eco-therapy programme works. A long-term study conducted by independent researchers between 1996 and 2002 of 90 young offenders who had participated in an eco-therapy trail programme revealed that 80% of them did not return to crime. This is in striking contrast with the normal rate of recidivism – or return to crime - for young offenders in South Africa, which stands at over 80%. The researchers found that the wilderness therapy intervention brought about significant positive changes in the participants' perceptions of themselves and others, which in turn led to changes in their behaviour, particularly a discontinuation of crime. Moreover, 75% of the participants were able to find gainful employment in the wake of the eco-trail experience, suggesting that they had indeed turned over a new leaf in life.

Recognising the value of eco-therapy trails not only as a catalyst for individual and community healing but also as a source of employment to youths with leadership potential, SSACI is currently sponsoring the training through NPAT of forty youths from six provinces as eco-therapy trail guides. Critical outputs of the project include:

• Certification by THETA (the education and training authority for the tourism industry) of at least 30 formerly-unemployed youths as assistant eco-therapy guides, registered with the South African Qualifications Authority and able to find employment on trails run by the government departments of health, justice and social development, or through their own enterprises
• Certification by THETA, again to SAQA standards, of at least 10 graduates from tertiary institutions as fully-qualified eco-therapists
• Establishment of community support structures around six trail-sites to refer people to the guides and serve as marketing channels
• A drop in the level of conflict and violence in communities from which trail guides are selected.

The SSACI-sponsored project commenced in January 2002 and will run until March 2003 at a total cost to SSACI of R 930’000. To date, 8 trainees have been registered with Psychological Society of South Africa as ecotherapists, 16 have been selected for training as Restorative Community Workers and 6 are in full time employment. It seems that SSACI’s investment in the NPAT`s eco-therapy guides training project will make a difference not only to skills development and job creation but also to the goal of nation building through restoration and healing.

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