Touch and taste - Braille menus launch in the Cape Winelands

© Barbara Helgason – 123RF.com

The Cape Winelands Braille Menu BRE Project is done in partnership with Worcester Tourism, Breede Valley Local Municipality, and the Institute for the Blind, the National Institute for the Deaf, Klein Plasie Restaurant, St Elmo's Restaurant, Dros, De Kelder and Blindiana Barista. In addition, waiters at these restaurants will be trained in sign language of the deaf.

The CWDM formulates strategic policies and developmental initiatives that would necessitate and stimulate economic development at local level. As a means of addressing this task and providing a strategic leadership role in regional investment, the CWDM has developed the Cape Winelands Investment Attraction and Opportunities Strategy (CW-IAOS). The primary goal being, to provide guidelines that would promote and facilitate investment in the Cape Winelands area by focusing on retaining and expanding existing businesses, identifying investment opportunities in the area and attracting new investment into the area.

By identifying business retention and expansion as a key local economic development programme, it is demonstrating its understanding that the number one economic engine within the Cape Winelands lies with the existing businesses located here. It is estimated that roughly 60% to 80% of all new jobs is created by existing businesses. These Cape Winelands businesses comprise the economic base in land use, capital formation and jobs plus they shape the foundation for future District growth.

The Cape Winelands Braille Menu BRE Project forms part of the wider Cape Winelands Business Retention and Expansion (CW-BRE) Programme for the Tourism Sector. The programme for the Tourism Sector is currently being implemented in partnership with Local Tourism Associations, Local Municipalities, Business Chambers/Sakekamers and individual tourism businesses in the towns of Worcester, Ceres, Tulbagh, Wolseley, Stellenbosch and Franschhoek.

The project also complements one of the Cape Winelands Tourism Niche focus areas of Accessible (Disabled-friendly) Tourism, the other two Cape Winelands tourism niches being Sport/Outdoor Tourism and Multi-generational (Family-friendly) Tourism. Accessible Tourism has been identified as an unexploited market segment in South Africa by the dti's Tourism unit. To this end, the CWDM is embarking for the next six months on conducting tourism research looking into how the District and its partners can exploit these untapped niche markets for the economic benefit of the Cape Winelands District.

For more information, go to www.capewinelands.gov.za.