Lesedi African Lodge & Cultural Village - A historical profile.

Lesedi Cultural Village was established in 1993. The vision - to provide an authentic showcase of the traditional cultures of some of the well known African tribes, who have their home in South Africa. Representatives of these tribes facilitated the design of the cultural villages to ensure an historically representative portrayal of the cultures, highlighting aspects of the traditional way of life. Members of these historic communities live at Lesedi and continue to breathe life into their fascinating cultures.

Situated within the Cradle of Humankind, a visit to South Africa is incomplete without a visit to Lesedi - the cradle of living African culture. In an informative and entertaining way, Lesedi provides the visitor with a better understanding of the rich cultural background of the traditional peoples of South Africa.

Tourvest Holdings (a JSE listed tourism company) acquired a controlling interest in Lesedi in 1998. Lesedi was re-launched in 1999 under the direction of Kingsley Holgate and Alan Louw. Kingsley, a National Geographic Explorer is one of the original founders and remains passionately involved in keeping the traditional African cultures alive in a progressively Westernising world. Kingsley keeps the cultural appeal at Lesedi alive. He is also well known for the sister attraction, Shakaland. Alan who has been involved in the tourism and hospitality industry for 25 years, serves as Managing Director. Both Alan and Kingsley are shareholders in Lesedi.

It was announced at the end of April 2008 that the controlling interest in Tourvest Holdings had been acquired by Guma Tourism Holdings - a Black owned tourism company. Accordingly Lesedi, as a subsidiary of Tourvest, now enjoys high level BEE status. This will be formalized with the appropriate certifications in the near future.

Lesedi has offered the pre-eminent African cultural experience in South Africa for the past 15 years. The opportunity to be immersed in the traditional richness of African Culture is enhanced with 38 beautifully themed guest rooms to accommodate guests in first class comfort.