**5. Findings**

The researchers wanted to first ascertain the sources of livelihoods for the people in the study area. The majority (73.2%; n = 255) of the respondents depended on subsistence crop production, while 36.6% (n = 127) relied, to a very low level, on rearing/breeding animals such as cattle, goats and chickens. Others sourced income from selling marula products (50.4%; n = 173), which emphasizes the importance of marula to the Swazi nation. Others relied on harvesting and selling other wild fruits and seeds except marula (54%; n = 54). Some (12.4%; n = 37) relied on other sources, such as collecting Mopani worms, wild fruits (wild berries and guava) and wild vegetables [like Amaranthus (*umbidvo*), Black Jack (*Imbuya*) and okra (*ligusha)*]*,* and other respondents are housewives who depend mainly on their husbands' income.
