The Western Cape Snail Project aims to create sustainabe employment by developing snail farming in the province with the ultimate goal of cornering a share of the lucrative international snail market, which experiences a shortfall of about 40 000 tons each year (2006 estimate).

Ready for processing

Snail sorting machine

Snails in a citrus tree

1. Locations
2. Potential Partners
3. Job Creation
4. Contact

If the assessment gives the green light, the farm in Laingville will take the form of snail houses - structures where conditions are tightly controlled to maximise snail growth and reproduction.

Another kind of snail farm, using the "parcs" method, will also be formed at Saldanha Bay and at a pilot location in Hopefield. The "parcs" method involves farming the snails outside, in vegetation parks, with an irrigation system providing the snail with additional humidity. Concentrated food is also supplied to accelerate growth. If the pilot project at Hopefield proves successful, then a snail farm will be established at that location.

It is envisaged that the snail farm, cannery and pilot farms will be owned by community groups and private investors, with profit-sharing options for staff.

1. Direct job creation
   The pilot farms and snail factory are expected to directly create between 150 and 200 jobs.
2. Contract farming
   Once the farms and cannery are up and running, a system of contract farming will be instituted.

   Aspiring snail farmers will be given three months of training, during which time they will receive a small stipend, after which they will have the skills needed to grow snails under contract, harvest from the wild or secure seed funding from private investors to start their own snail farms.

   The snails produced by contract farmers will be sold to the factory, where they will be prepared, packaged and exported.

3. Fringe industries
   In addition to direct employment and contract farming, the snail industry will create opportunities for a number of support services, for example:
   • Ground sterilisation: the ground needed for breeding purposes needs to be sterilised beforehand.
   • Excrement removal and processing: snail excrement can be reworked using vermiculture to create a highly nutritional compost (vermicompost).
   • Transport: to ferry snail crops from contract farmers to the canning factory.
   • Tourism and eco-tourism: while most of the snails will go directly to export, there is scope to supply small amounts to restaurants in the area, opening the way for Snail Festivals similar to the Oyster Festival in Knysna.
   • Arts and crafts: Items like lampshades, keyrings and jewellery made from snail shells could create a number of informal employment opportunities.
   • Other applications: snails are a source of seven enzymes used in the food industry, and one enzyme used to diagnose breast and colon cancer. Snail mucus also has considerable anti-bacterial properties, and can be used to make creams proven to be useful in the treatment of scar tissue, acne and burns.