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ABOUT

 

So...tell me who you are, who you really really are?!

 

The Ubuntu Garden & Skills (UG&S) Project is a rural development, non-profit organisation, based in the Xhora mouth in the Eastern Cape, which is one of South Africa's poorest areas.

 

​So what are you trying to achieve here?

 

​Our goal for this project is to help the community become more self sufficient and create a greater local economy that empower and support one another. We want to help the local people utilise the rich fertile land to grow and harvest more of their own food and water in an effort to create greater self reliance.

 

​Ok cool, and why are you doing this?

 

The UG&S Project was started to address the challenges in the community around lack of skills and food sustainability. In 2016 food prices went up by 11% whilst inflation was 6.5%. This has a huge impact on poorer communities and this project wants to address these issues.

 

​And how are you planning to do that?

 

Already within the community, tourism is being used as a tool for social development ( http://www.bulungula.com) and we want to build on this.

 

​We're doing this through a working example site with best modern farming practices as well as a rural gardening centre which will teach useful and appropriate skills.

 

The project will take on community members who will be trained in a range of useful, practical skills while receiving a monthly stipend.

 

These members will then be part of a next phase of the project whereby they teach other community members and help pass on these skills and knowledge.

 

What skills exactly are you going to be teaching?

 

Different skills will be learnt by the community at various phases of the project, but the skills to to start are: farming, cob and adobe building techniques, poultry farming, irrigation and water harvesting, furniture making and composting.

 

Who will be doing this teaching, no one wants to live in the sticks in the middle of nowhere!

 

For the last seven years, the community has benefited from the presence of retired artisan, J.P. van der Walt.

He's been living and working in the village, helping out here and there. He is a qualified Aircraft electrical technician, but has over the decades, gained a wide range of skills including carpentry, building (both standard and cob building), sustainable technologies (he is the designer of the now legendary Rocket Showers at Bulungula Lodge), metal work, arc welding, plumbing, farming and numerous other skills.

 

In short, JP possesses the skill-set needed to live in a remote rural area where one has to make innovative plans to address common problems. He epitomises the saying “'n boer maak 'n plan.” This is a common saying in South Africa which means " A farmer always makes a plan"

 

JP has worked on other projects in the community with limited funding and inadequate tools and now looks to formalise the model to have greater benefit to the community.

 

​Sounds good, so what do you want from me?

 

Projects like this cost money but fortunately we've got the hardest part covered - finding someone with skills who's prepared to and already living in the local community to implement the project.

 

Here are some ways you can help.

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Any help is appreciated :) Did you know that you get a tax benefit for making donations? Yup, we'll send you an receipt which you submit as a deduction when doing your tax return. Yay, it pays to pay! :)

 

We currently have two financial goals:

 

1 - Cover our monthly operational costs of R5500 / $500 - we require donors who can contribute monthly. R4000 / $340 of this is to subsidize the local jobs we've created until the project is self sufficient to cover these costs.

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2- Raise funding for tools to get the next project phase going - R16 000 / $1300 Note ** (South African donors, please make your donation from your bank account as this incurs the smallest fees and greatest amount towards the project) FNB 62635360051, Branch code 250655

 

Here are some other ways you can help:

1. Do your own fundraising initiative or add a social component to your next event.

 

2. Go and stay at the local eco lodge during your next holiday - its 100% community owned so just by visiting you're helping. Yup, help others by going on holiday - sounds good right?!

 

3. Come and volunteer your time to help speed things along, create awareness and share your skills and knowledge.

 

4. Everyone has got something of value to give, we need all the help we can get - message us.

 

5. Join our mailing list, Facebook page and follow us on Twitter - just by sharing our story and updates makes a difference - cost to you $0 but you've at least done something, and that is more than nothing :)

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• Volunteer

 

Want to come and make a difference?

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Right now the project isn't in a position yet to take on volunteers for longer periods.

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The best way you can get involved is by coming to stay at the Bulungula Eco Lodge and then offering to help out for a morning, day, couple days or more...just by coming to stay in the area you bring support to the local community who use tourism as a tool for social development.

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The off grid ecolodge is run by the local Xhosa community and is a South African transformation success story. Read about it here 

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Why not combine your leisure time with giving back a little?

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Below are some pictures of the beautiful surroundings you can expect to see...

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