The successful self-help building activities in a South African township near Port Elizabeth which had been started in the previous year was continued in a three week long practical workshop in February 2018.
An interdisciplinary student group, along with students from the local Nelson Mandela University and the PE College, built a house according a plan which they had already designed as an extension of a typical local house within the state supported building project for needy families. The prototype uses materials that can be found locally and using simple techniques and tools which leave room for the local people’s creative ideas for adequate and aesthetic domiciles. The ‘micro-contractors’ who are involved, who had previously taken part in a further training programme regarding the requirements of the project, were then directly involved in the students’ planning and building process, so that they could take responsibility of and ensure the running of the operations and maintenance of the buildings. In this way each individual project has a firm basis as well as a long-term business strategy to secure the autonomy of their livelihood. These fascinating model projects are so well perceived by both the local community and those who are politically responsible that they encourage them to develop further individual initiatives and their support. The purpose of this year’s build-it-yourself project was to build a small local shop – called ‘Spaza Shop’ in South Africa – which is at the same time a central contact and meeting point within the Joe Slovo West township near Port Elizabeth. This little extension was built in a simplified version of the frame construction. Once again ‘green’ technology and recycled material mainly in the form of recycled industrial pallets were constituent elements. The small shops which should fulfil the concrete needs of families who live in the townships were determined in a practical seminar in the design faculty at the Technical college in Wismar with input from the local planning partner and then implemented in the township by a team of German and South African students. International cooperation demands economic and social competences of all those involved, in particular from the South African students who mostly come from underprivileged township families. Our experience shows us that they share the experience that they have gained from the project with others around them and pass on their knowledge. The enthusiasm and continuous voluntary work under the leadership of our local partner Kevin Musembi Kimwelle is the foundation for a sustainable project.
Studentisches Selbstbauprojekt der HS Wismar
Kontaktperson: Prof. Silke Flassnöcker
+49 (0) 178 187 739 2
silke.flassnoecker@hs-wismar.de
fg.hs-wismar.de
The successful self-help building activities in a South African township near Port Elizabeth which had been started in the previous year was continued in a three week long practical workshop in February 2018.
An interdisciplinary student group, along with students from the local Nelson Mandela University and the PE College, built a house according a plan which they had already designed as an extension of a typical local house within the state supported building project for needy families. The prototype uses materials that can be found locally and using simple techniques and tools which leave room for the local people’s creative ideas for adequate and aesthetic domiciles. The ‘micro-contractors’ who are involved, who had previously taken part in a further training programme regarding the requirements of the project, were then directly involved in the students’ planning and building process, so that they could take responsibility of and ensure the running of the operations and maintenance of the buildings. In this way each individual project has a firm basis as well as a long-term business strategy to secure the autonomy of their livelihood. These fascinating model projects are so well perceived by both the local community and those who are politically responsible that they encourage them to develop further individual initiatives and their support. The purpose of this year’s build-it-yourself project was to build a small local shop – called ‘Spaza Shop’ in South Africa – which is at the same time a central contact and meeting point within the Joe Slovo West township near Port Elizabeth. This little extension was built in a simplified version of the frame construction. Once again ‘green’ technology and recycled material mainly in the form of recycled industrial pallets were constituent elements. The small shops which should fulfil the concrete needs of families who live in the townships were determined in a practical seminar in the design faculty at the Technical college in Wismar with input from the local planning partner and then implemented in the township by a team of German and South African students. International cooperation demands economic and social competences of all those involved, in particular from the South African students who mostly come from underprivileged township families. Our experience shows us that they share the experience that they have gained from the project with others around them and pass on their knowledge. The enthusiasm and continuous voluntary work under the leadership of our local partner Kevin Musembi Kimwelle is the foundation for a sustainable project.
Studentisches Selbstbauprojekt der HS Wismar
Kontaktperson: Prof. Silke Flassnöcker
+49 (0) 178 187 739 2
silke.flassnoecker@hs-wismar.de
fg.hs-wismar.de