South Africa’s most compelling tourism experiences aren’t found in museums, monuments, or postcard-perfect photo spots - they are carried in the living memory of local communities.
By moving away from passive sightseeing toward hands-on participation, travellers are gathering wood, foraging medicinal herbs, and cooking over open fires.
This shift toward indigenous knowledge systems isn't just offering visitors a deeper, more authentic connection; it is putting economic power directly back into rural hands.
For Retang Phaahla, co-founder of Setšong Tea Crafters in the Sekhukhune District of Limpopo, this is precisely what rural tourism should offer: an opportunity for visitors to learn, participate and connect with the people and landscapes behind the experience.
“We are all about reviving and preserving our indigenous knowledge systems in the form of herbs and the food that were indigenously consumed,” says Phaahla.
Setšong works with rural communities in Limpopo to document and preserve indigenous knowledge while creating experiences that allow visitors to engage with it first-hand.
From seeing heritage to living it
On the farm, visitors can learn about indigenous herbs and foods and how they were traditionally processed, including through methods such as using grinding stones.
The experience extends to the dining table, where indigenous ingredients are incorporated into dishes from starter to dessert.
There are also indigenous games, a bush camp and what Phaahla describes as a village experience.
Rather than simply observing rural life, visitors can participate in it - collecting water from the river, gathering wood, preparing food and cooking together around a fire.
It is this shift from passive sightseeing to participation that could give indigenous knowledge tourism its edge.
Professor Sihawu Ngubane, an academic, linguist and cultural expert at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, believes the future of cultural tourism lies in moving away from simply presenting places and objects and towards engaging with living heritage.
“The future of cultural tourism lies in the transformation from viewing places and objects, including museums, to engaging with society, to go deep into living heritage and insight on identity and interpretation of heritage,” he says.
For travellers, that could mean a cultural experience is no longer simply about looking at an artefact or visiting a historical site.
It becomes an opportunity to meet knowledge holders, hear stories, understand traditional practices and experience how heritage continues to shape everyday life.
A taste of South Africa’s indigenous knowledge
Food and wellness could be particularly powerful gateways into this form of tourism.
Setšong’s tea range uses indigenous herbs that have been given additional value through different infusions, with products positioned around experiences such as relaxation, sleep and energy. The teas are supplied to retailers and the hospitality industry, creating another way for visitors to encounter indigenous ingredients.
Phaahla says the company is also developing an authentic African tea experience for hospitality establishments, allowing hotels and other accommodation providers to incorporate indigenous teas into their guest offering.
But the experience extends well beyond tea.
Setšong attracts local families, schools and universities, as well as international visitors. Phaahla says overseas university groups, including students from Michigan State University, have visited, while travellers from Italy have shown particular interest in the gastronomic experience.
For families, these experiences can become a way of reconnecting younger generations with the land and knowledge around them.
“Perhaps you have a child and you’d like them to get to know more about their culture or African culture in general,” says Phaahla. Visitors can learn about indigenous plants, food and the relationship between people and the soil.
This makes indigenous knowledge tourism relevant not only to international visitors searching for an ‘authentic’ African experience, but also to South Africans exploring their own heritage.
Keeping communities at the centre
The growth of indigenous knowledge tourism also raises an important question: who owns the stories being shared?
Ngubane argues that knowledge holders must remain at the centre of the process.
“Knowledge holders should lead in providing indigenous knowledge and remain owners of information,” he says, emphasising the need to protect indigenous knowledge from piracy and exploitation.
This is particularly important as global travellers increasingly seek authentic cultural experiences. Without safeguards, the very knowledge that makes these experiences valuable could become commercialised without the communities who preserved it benefiting.
For Ngubane, local guides and storytellers should therefore be incentivised to share their knowledge and experiences.
“If stories are told by the community the knowledge produced will be original,” he says.
Setšong offers one example of how this community-centred approach can work. Phaahla says the company is 49% community-owned, with its model using indigenous knowledge as a means of contributing to the rural economy.
The benefits extend beyond the tourism experience itself. Accommodation, guiding, food, crafts and cultural activities can all create opportunities for people in rural areas to participate in the tourism economy.
The next frontier of cultural travel?
South Africa has no shortage of spectacular landscapes and iconic attractions. But its indigenous knowledge may offer something that is harder to replicate: a deeply personal connection between traveller, community, culture and place.
For visitors, that could mean leaving with more than photographs. They might return home having learnt how a plant is used, cooked a traditional meal, heard a story in an indigenous language or sat around a fire sharing food with people whose knowledge has been passed down through generations.
For communities, the opportunity is potentially even greater.
“When we use indigenous knowledge to improve the rural economy,” says Phaahla, “we are creating job opportunities and allowing communities to use their culture and indigenous knowledge and benefit from it economically.”
As travellers increasingly seek meaningful experiences, the next big tourism drawcard may not be another attraction built for visitors.
It may be the knowledge that communities have been carrying all along.
zamandosi.cele@nationalmg.co.za