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Overview

TRALSO is a non-profit land rights and development organisation that advocates, facilitates and implements agrarian reform for the landless and rural communities of the Transkei homeland in South Africa.
 
The organisation is instrumental in providing access to land, tenure security, promoting the establishment of sustainable livelihoods and giving women and children the opportunity to participate and benefit from the land.
 
TRALSO was established in 1991 in response to the frustrations of the inhabitants of this former homeland who had suffered various forms of dispossession. Their plight was further aggravated by the absence of a land administration system, and the poor prospect of local economic development in this region.
Communities now have a voice with which to challenge the inequitable dispossessions of the past, allowing them to engage in the formation of policies and enjoy the resources that have been denied them for so long.
 
TRALSO manages four broad programmes:
 
  • Land Reform
    This is TRALSO`s core programme that has been running since 1992 and comprises Land Restitution, Land Tenure and Land Redistribution.
  • Agrarian Transformation
    This program aims to achieve productive and sustainable use of land, and contribute to (or influence) the formulation of conducive land use policies.
  •  Gender Programme
    This program aims at raising awareness and increasing the participation and involvement of women and youth in community development initiatives.
  •  Cooperatives
    This program leverages the cooperative economic model, allowing rural producers to distribute products effectively by removing barriers to trade for the micro-producer.
 
TRALSO operates in three ‘clusters’, comprised of:
 
  1. Elliot Cluster with 26 LRAD farms (these are farms that have received a grant from The Land Redistribution for Agricultural Development programme)
  2. Wild Coast Cluster with a population of 560 households along the Wild Coast in Dwesa Cwebe, Mbizana, Mzamba and Port St Johns.
  3. Inland Cluster in the forest areas around Mthatha with 470 households.
 
The services that TRALSO provide encompass the following activities:
  • Agrarian Transformation   
    Land use and land care impacting rural livelihoods. Land and agrarian reform programmes, comprising restitution, redistribution and tenure reform.
  • Popular Education
    Raising awareness and providing training & skills development.
  • Social Mobilisation
    Public events and campaigns.
  • Gender Issues
    Women on land, policy advocacy, HIV/AIDS, rural women and early childhood development.

We engage in joint lobbying, training and advocacy activities with numerous strategic partners, such as: 

  • Cala University Student's Association (CALUSA)
  • Catholic Development Centre (CDC)
  • Department of Land Affairs
  • Dept of Health and Department of Environmental Affairs
  • Eastern Cape Agricultural Research Project (ECARP)
  • Eastern Cape Appropriate Technology Unit (ECATU)
  • Eastern Cape NGO Coalition
  • Farm Radio Network - a Canadian organisation serving radio broadcasters in developing countries
  • Food and Trees for Africa
  • Masifunde
  • OR Tambo's Ntinga Development Agency
  • Regional Land Claims Commission (RLCC)
  • Rural Development Services Network (RDSN)
  • Rural Research Development Institute, University of Transkei
TRALSO is a registered Section 21 Company and Non Profit Organisation.