FEDUP Archives - Page 6 of 16

Mar 07

Rolling out Lumkani Fire Device: Preventing Fires, Upgrading Communities

By Yolande Hendler CORC, FEDUP, ISN, News No Comments

By Yolande Hendler (on behalf of CORC)

The last two months bear witness to the devastation fires can cause. At the height of South Africa’s hottest months, fires pose a continuous threat, often breaking out in informal areas, wiping out entire segments of informal settlements, despite the response of fire departments.

Fire in Langrug, Stellenbosch Municipality, February 2014

A proactive response to fire?

In January and February 2015, the Alliance was alerted to two fires in ISN/FEDUP settlements alone, with several more breaking out in the City of Cape Town and Stellenbosch Municipality such as in Langrug informal settlement where an estimated 70 structures were razed to the ground. In 2014 the City of Cape Town’s Human Settlements directorate spent R6.5 million on fire aid by issuing 1 186 enhanced emergency kits to victims of 254 separate fires in a period of two months.

How can the response to informal settlement fires become less reactive and more proactive and preventative? Since early 2014 the SA SDI Alliance has partnered with Lumkani, a social enterprise that has designed and co-developed an early warning fire detection device with ISN and FEDUP affiliated communities in Cape Town.

UT Gardens leadership with Lumkani with installed device on wall

Co-developing the Lumkani device

The Lumkani device uses heat detection technology to sense for fires. It accurately measures the incidence of harmful fires alerting the family inside a shack of the danger. Each device is networked to surrounding devices within a 100m radius. In the event of a fire the detecting device sends a signal to surrounding devices within this range. A solid beep means that the device has detected a fire in your own home while a broken beep indicates that the fire is in the nearby surrounding. A wave of sound creates a community-wide alert and response to danger. This buys time for the community to become proactive in rapidly spreading fire risk situations. Through deep engagement with UT Gardens community leadership, the Lumkani team co-developed the device to optimally suit the informal settlement context. Read more about the device and the co-design process here.

The Lumkani device

Co-developing the device – workshop in UT Gardens ahead of rollout and installation.

Co-developing the device – workshop in UT Gardens ahead of rollout and installation.

Roll-out and Community Contributions: “We are proud of our device”

In November and December 2015 the first Lumkani devices were rolled out in UT Gardens and Siyahlala’s D-section. Currently ISN and FEDUP community leaders have rolled out 650 devices.

On the first day of distribution and roll-out, community leaders and members of the Lumkani team installed about 20 manufactured devices in the homes of community leaders and general community members. The devices need to be installed 1m away from the cooking area, to avoid triggering a false alarm in the event of close proximity to a heat source. The device is therefore positioned as high as possible while still in reachable distance in order to test or silence the alarm.

As the first batch was installed the community leadership collected a 20% contribution of the overall cost of the devices from community members through door-to-door visits. Contributions are an integral part of the Alliance approach of “Vuku’zenzele” – “Wake up and do it for yourself”.

Nokokheli Ncambele, Western Cape ISN co-ordinator explains,

“[Contributions are important because we want] communities to find solutions to their own problems. If a community contributes, they show that they are interested. With our contributions, we leverage more funds”

Communities that expressed interest in the device during initial mobilisation could apply to the Alliance’s Community Upgrading Finance Facility (CUFF) for co-funding, whereby CUFF covered 80% and community members contributed 20% (i.e R20) of the total cost.

Emily Vining, who facilitates Lumkani’s community interaction, reflects on the significance of community contributions,

“It is our hope that the act of purchasing the device is an exercise of freedom whereby people can increase their own safety and security and that of their community through their own agency and choice. Communities don’t have to wait for external actors to bring about change. They can do it for themselves”

UT Gardens community leader, Vuyani Ntontela and Lumkani engineer Frank Petousis install device

Siyahlala’s FEDUP co-ordinator, Nozuko Fulani, with Lumkani’s Emily Vining & Frank Petousis

Fire prevention record so far

So far the system has prevented the spread of two fires in UT Gardens. The first (9 Dec 2014) occurred in the late morning when a light breeze blew some embers from a cooking fire into the neighbouring home. Although the homeowner was away, the Lumkani device she had installed triggered her neighbours devices who ran outside their homes to see where the danger had come from. The community managed to keep the fire contained with buckets while one community member used the toll-free emergency number 112 to call the fire department. The fire had burnt the community member’s home to the ground but no other structures where affected. The community attributed this to the early alert the Lumkani system provided.

The second incident occurred in the early morning hours of 22 Dec 2014 when UT and Lumkani leadership were alerted by SMS text messages that the system had triggered. Later that day it emerged that some men had left their pot unattended while making food. Their Lumkani device rang when the pot caught fire alerting them to the danger. They quickly put out the fire and shared the story with UT Gardens community leader, Thamara Hela, as they were very impressed with the functionality of the device.

UT Gardens community leader, Thamara Hela, with Emily Vining

A broader approach to Upgrading

The Alliance’s partnership with Lumkani is an example of what a proactive community intervention can look like. Its significance lies in the co-design and co-development of the Lumkani device – between community members and Lumkani’s technical team. What sets the Lumkani device apart is the community’s involvement in developing its own technical intervention. Through negotiating additional funds through their own contributions the community expressed its interest in taking the device on as its own – “Vuku’zenzele”.

The partnership is also an example of a broader approach to upgrading, one that reaches beyond housing and basic services. When upgrading includes co-design and relevant co-intervention, communities move from being receptors to actors, taking more control of the development process itself.

Feb 17

Love0

Launch of Upgrading at Flamingo Crescent with Cape Town Mayor Patricia de Lille

By Yolande Hendler CORC, FEDUP, iKhayalami, ISN, Press No Comments

Authored by CORC

“People said Flamingo Crescent [Upgrading] will never happen. But today is here and this is the proof that it has happened – one cannot do it alone we need to work as a collective!”

Melanie Manuel, Informal Settlement Network (ISN) Co-ordinator

Mayor of Cape Town, Patricia de Lille, with Flamingo Crescent Community Members, SA SDI Alliance, PFO’s and City Officials

Last week’s upgrading launch at Flamingo Crescent informal settlement celebrated the completion of re-blocking, installation of water, sanitation and electricity services for each of Flamingo’s 104 households, the unveiling of Flamingo’s first formal street names and opening of the settlement’s own crèche, Little Paradise. Moreover it marked a milestone in an ongoing upgrading process, showcasing what is possible when communities, intermediaries, governments and stakeholders form partnerships.

Delegates from community organisations and networks, the Mayor of the City of Cape Town, delegates from various government departments, ward and sub-council politicians, NGOs and support organisations gathered in the Lansdowne Civic Centre from 11:00 on Monday 10 February.

The re-blocking project is lauded as a successful demonstration of community-led, participatory planning, collaborative implementation and improvement of informal settlements. The uniqueness of the project was that despite the settlement’s density no one was displaced and grossly inconvenienced during the implementation of upgrading 104 structures.

ISN & FEDUP welcome the Mayor to the launch at Lansdowne Civic Centre

First engagements around Flamingo Crescent

First engagements began in 2012 after the City of Cape Town signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the SA SDI Alliance around joint community-led upgrading of 22 informal settlements, of which Flamingo Crescent is the third, having built on the experiences of Mtshini Wam and Kuku Town. It differs from the previous two in the severity of its socio-economic challenges – high levels of crime, unemployment, violence and poverty. Given these circumstances the Alliance’s Informal Settlement Network (ISN) facilitated implementation and engagement between the City and the community.

Melanie Manuel (Flamingo Crescent ISN facilitator) shared,

“When we started the partnership with the City of Cape Town in 2011 in Vygieskraal it was a day of celebration and no one knew the hardships that would lie ahead. As time went on we realised we fundamentally believe in community participation, a bottom up approach because we know communities understand their settlements best.”

Savings Symposium: Strong Savings Make Us Alive

By Yolande Hendler CORC, FEDUP, ISN, SDI No Comments

By Yolande Hendler (on behalf of CORC)

From 23-29 November 2014 the SA SDI Alliance and SDI affiliates from Malawi, Zambia & Zimbabwe gathered for a weeklong savings symposium in Cape Town to strengthen the Alliance’s savings practices. The group of 80 community and youth leaders discussed the power of savings for organising communities, leveraging municipal resources and opening a space to address individual, group and community needs.

Opening Greetings of Symposium

Na-eema Swartz, Symposium Co-organiser, counts savings collection taken during first day.

Symposium overview: field visits and discussions

Discussions assessed the Alliance’s current savings patterns, locally and nationally. They clarified what roles and responsibilities exist within savings groups, identified existing challenges and developed solutions for these. Visiting affiliates shared their savings practices, systems and strategies, supporting the SA alliance through the exchange of alternatives ideas and opportunities.

Throughout the week the group based these discussions on field visits to savings groups and upgraded informal settlement communities like Flamingo Crescent, who contributed 20% of the cost of each upgraded structure. These visits enabled a hands-on space for the symposium members to accompany local treasurers and collectors and learn how to complete saving record forms during door-to-door savings collections in Khayelitsha, Philippi and Samora. During other visits symposium members supported network meetings in Samora and Mfuleni in Cape Town, where four or five savings groups in a particular area regularly report back to each other on a network level.

Field visit in Flamingo Informal Settlement

Understanding savings in the SA Alliance

FEDUP national co-ordinators, Rose Molokoane and Marlene Don, opened the savings symposium by exploring the purpose for the gathering, revisiting the history of savings in the SA Alliance and its significance as a core methodology of the broader SDI network. Rose therefore reminded the gathering of the SA alliance’s history as rooted in its first exchange in the early 1990s with urban poor federations in India who were practicing daily savings.

Rose and Marlene revisited the main aims of FEDUP and ISN, namely

Encourage self reliance
Organising communities
Use savings and other methodologies as a tool to leverage external resources

These are underpinned by FEDUP and ISN’s 5 core principles:

Love
Trust
Accountability
Transparency
Commitment

Examining Alliance savings and looking forward

The purpose of the symposium was therefore to retrospect and understand the foundation on which the Alliance has built its savings, examine current savings patterns and look forward in terms of how these can be strengthened and developed. Based on impressions from the field, symposium members split into six groups, discussing questions, documenting suggestions and opinions in order to reach tangible outcomes. The questions under discussion were:

What is a saver?
Who is a collector?
Who is a treasurer?
What kind of savings do we have?
Which kind is best for our organisation?
How do we collect savings?
How often do we collect savings?
How do we record?
How do we do reconciliation & savings?
How & when do we do audits of our savings?
How did you become a collector / treasurer?
How do we run savings meetings?
How should we deal with inconsistencies?

Each group presented its responses to the larger gathering, thereby mapping out a foundation on which to continue building the SA Alliance’s savings. The responses and group discussions will be used to develop a guiding framework for savings patterns in the Alliance. Communities thereby use savings not only as a tool to meet identified needs but to enable constructive negotiation with governmental tiers for resources and participatory development.

As members of each province reflected on the experiences gained during the week, it became evident that it was indeed a rich time of learning, exchange and building strong savings patterns.

“I learnt how to record in savings books, and I learnt the strength of being part of a group like this. I realised we can do it together. You made me feel so welcome” (Wendy, FEDUP Youth, Free State)

“I learnt the purpose of savings and how to motivate my community to save when I return home” (Sifiso, KwaZulu-Natal)

“Our federation belongs to us and we are the ones who will make it alive through strong savings!” (Rose Molokoane, FEDUP National Co-ordinator)

Presenting Group responses

Dec 11

Love0

Alliance youth generate income through clearing alien vegetation

By Yolande Hendler CORC, FEDUP, ISN, Youth No Comments

By Joel Kramer (on behalf of SA SDI Alliance)

The garden is in its element, the peak of spring. Tomatoes as plump as a baby’s cheek, carrots bright as the dawn sky, and enough cabbages to fill a toddler’s wagon; the community garden overflows with produce for the holiday season. Several months ago the team of women and youth from around Masiphumelele had taken a day away from their trying efforts on the mountainside to plant vegetables for the Masiphumelele Soup Kitchen. It took half a year to reach this special day, but the time for harvest has come.

In holiday spirit, Umpheki Noks celebrates with the SA SDI Alliance and Masi Pink House staff at the Masi Soup Kitchen after the harvest of vegetables for christmas dishes of imifino (greens), seshebo (stew) and umngqusho (mash)

The team’s history follows much the same story of planting, care and growth. In July, to address the issue of livelihoods, reliable pay and career employment, the SA SDI Alliance assembled a team to clear alien vegetation in a steep mountain slope in the South Peninsula. With the support of local landowners and the Department of Environmental Affairs, the project employed, trained and provided leadership to 11 young residents of Masiphumelele. Over the course of the last six months, this hard-working team has transformed a fire-prone alien-ridden mountainside into a seed bed for indigenous fynbos regeneration. In a couple of years, the slopes will be blooming with wildflowers where a gum tree wasteland once cast its shadow.

The Embacwini Wetlands are a far cry from the mountainside. Flat, full of water and ruckus, a myriad of shacks and streets at the edge of the cattails make the neighborhood a busy place. With this density of homes and physical limits on new growth, Masiphumelele residents have trouble finding locations to grow vegetables for traditional dishes. The isolated location in the South Peninsula also makes it difficult for residents, especially youth, to find permanent employment.

The Alliance livelihood project sought to address shared community issues in addition to individual financial stability. The majority of the month, the team devotes itself to the clearing of alien vegetation from steep mountain slopes. However, one day each month, the team would revitalize the community garden at the Masiphumelele Soup Kitchen in partnership with Catholic Welfare Development. The revitalization began this winter and on Monday it produced roughly 20 kilos of vegetables. Lead cook Nokwakwa (Noks) was overjoyed at the baskets of lettuce, bags of beans and tomatoes and bunches of carrots. The vegetable will become seshebo (stew), umngqusho (mash) and imifino (greens) for the needy in this holiday season.

Close to the earth, Nonzukiso and Nono weed garden beds at the Masi Soup Kitchen community garden to make room for a Christmas harvest

In the meantime, the Alliance team continues to push forward on the mountain, harvesting a completely different product: braaiwood. While removing alien invasive vegetation, rooikrans is a dominant species, and is able to be sold on the market for a profit. These profits go directly to the team members, providing an additional incentive for the hard work that they do.

Team members approach this effort with years of experience. Several women are career professionals in the wildland management industry, with multiple years of experience as an herbicide applicator or chainsaw operator. SDI’s veteran staff have more than two decades of combined mountainside chainsaw experience from working on private properties. But this new location at Castle Rock Conservancy poses new challenges. The mountainside at Castle Rock is steeper than most locations in the Western Cape, and requires intermediate training to safely clear certain areas. Severe cliffs necessitate rope access, during which time a chainsaw operator may have to brave falling branches at the edge of sea cliffs. And when all are resting for lunch after a demanding morning, workers must fend off baboon, mongoose or pigeons before they enjoy their meal. Few teams in the Western Cape are equipped and trained to this type of work, and the skill set is in high demand. Even public properties have a long waiting list for treatment, which tarries into 2016.

After a tough day clearing the mountain slopes, Sakhe raises his chainsaw triumphantly

With the vision of the Alliance and national governmental support, this small team might stand the chance of receiving that higher training and gaining contracts to those difficult, more lucrative areas. Further, the team members could set a national precedent for funding and management by presenting the collective model.

Inside and outside of the workplace, the opportunity for collaboration and shared effort remains. After this week’s harvest, the garden at the Pink House will continue to provide lettuce and onions, cabbage and strawberries for the holidays. And when the harvest is complete, new seeds donated from a partner in Mitchell’s Plain will begin the next growing cycle. As each tree falls and each veggie grows, the density of Masi’s Embacwini may morph from trouble to triumph.

Anela and Nozi enjoy their hard-earned sunshine after clearing away the dense undergrowth in the back alleyway to clear space for vegetable beds.

Dec 04

Love0

FEDUP launches livelihood programs: solar lights, funeral scheme & income generation

By Yolande Hendler FEDUP, uTshani Fund No Comments

By Walter Monyela and Yolande Hendler (on behalf of CORC)

Sarah Makgopela of Aganang savings scheme in Legonyane (North West province) has started a small business selling hats, water boilers, sweets and other small goods through the income generation program

If about 25% of South Africans are unemployed, this percentage is even higher for communities living in informal settlements – a reality that is no different for the members of the South African Federation of the Urban and Rural Poor (FEDUP). Since the early 1990s, FEDUP members have identified their own development needs especially around accessing well-located land, security of tenure, improved shelter, housing and basic services. Through the practice of daily savings and other community organisation tools, FEDUP has built partnerships with government on all tiers and has negotiated access to many of these needs. Yet the lack of income generation has posed continuous instability and hardship on a day-to-day basis.

Over the last years, therefore, FEDUP has identified the need to strengthen the income generation opportunities of its members and in 2014 launched several livelihood programs. While these programs assist members to start their own small businesses and the movement as a whole to generate its own income and build its own assets, they are at the same time initiatives that reinforce the importance of the rituals of Shack/ Slum Dwellers International, such as daily savings.

The livelihoods programs underway are

Total Solar Lamps by Awango
Funeral Policy known as South African FEDUP Funeral Scheme (SAFFS)
Loan Program known as the Federation Income Generation Program (FIGP)

Total Solar Lamps by Awango

A member of Aganang savings scheme in Legonyane (North West) reselling Awango solar lights by Total South Africa

Total South Africa (TSL) introduced solar lamps by Awango and entered a contractual partnership with uTshani Fund to provide FEDUP members with economic opportunities of buying Awango solar lights from uTshani Fund and selling them to potential buyers e.g informal settlement communities and businesses. Although the emphasis is on FEDUP members this opportunity is also open to non-FEDUP members who are keen to do sales. This year a total of 314 people (307 FEDUP members) in seven provinces were trained as resellers.

Training includes a presentation on the available products, how they operate, durability and logistical aspects of the business. After training each reseller ideally buys at least one of each type of solar light (3 in total). The solar lights business is aimed at members who already run an income generation initiative and are seeking to diversify their products – this would provide the financial platform for securing the first stock.

Amidst successes, the program experienced challenges in terms of sellers lacking sufficient start-up capital as well as insufficient sales experience. In response FEDUP members are devising strategies to support the growth of businesses and sellers’ capacities such as exposing sellers to more in-depth training in sales skills and exploring the potential of connecting with the Small Enterprise Finance Agency (SEFA) around increased support for start-up loans.

Funeral Policy (SAFFS)

The South African FEDUP Funeral Scheme (SAFFS) grew out of a desire expressed by FEDUP to bury its members with dignity and honour. SAFFS started its full operations in March 2014 and operates as an understudy to Imbalenhle Burial Society (IBS). It is underwritten by TransAfrica Life Funeral Policies, who are registered with the Financial Services Board of South Africa (FSB).SAFFS currently works in association with IBS to learn how to administer a funeral scheme with the intention of going solo. FEDUP members sell the funeral scheme to own members as well as the public and have sold an estimated 600 schemes to date. Sellers are compensated per policy sold.

Loan Program (Federation Income Generation Program – FIGP)

“I have used the Federation Income Generation Program to sew graduation gowns as a business. This helps me support my family”

The loan program is a formalisation of the loans that FEDUP members access at individual savings scheme level. While this practice will continue, the FIGP is an initiative to expand the scope of these loans to support FEDUP members in income generation activities of their choice.

FEDUP has therefore registered with the relevant financial bodies (via uTshani Fund) and has started up a legal and formalised microfinance institution through which members can access group loans from their own Urban Poor Fund, instead of external financial institutions.The criteria for accessing a loan is:

Formal FEDUP membership (complete UPF payment)
Active member of a FEDUP savings scheme
Experience as small business entrepreneur for at least 6 months
Be part of a group of 5 to access a loan

These criteria ensure that members continue saving and support one another in the development of their respective businesses because individuals can only receive loans when they are in a group of five. The whole group must also make repayments as one overall sum. Therefore individual success depends on group success.

In this way FEDUP broadens the scope of its livelihood programs, strengthens its membership base and positions itself toward financial sustainability within the next five years. The year 2015 will definitely mark FEDUP as another recognised, fully registered and compliant microfinance in South Africa. Through this initiative FEDUP will also be able to approach funders and private organisations to leverage further resources.

” I have used the FIGP to buy shwe shwe material and sew dresses” – Elizabeth Motaung, FEDUP members in Orange Farm Gauteng

At the heart of the matter

What lies behind these varying income generation initiatives? On the one hand, FEDUP’s step towards financial sustainability to ensure continued existence in the case of decreased donor-funding. On the other hand, and at the heart of the matter, lies savings, the engine of FEDUP that enables poor women to come together, share their experiences – struggles and triumphs – and find solutions.

Sarah Mulaudzi, North West co-ordinator for FEDUP recently shared that

“In our savings groups we have R300 000 worth of savings from our members who are doing income generation programs. Through the income generation program our savings are really growing!”

As the income generation programs require savings and start up capital they strengthen FEDUP’s savings practices. Strong savings in turn build a strong group and a strong community, which widens opportunities within the income generation programs themselves.

The small business of Sarah Makgopela and Elizabeth Moletese of Aganang savings scheme in Legonyane, North West province.

Nov 11

Love0

Putting K2 and Green Park on the Map – Mapping Exchange in Cape Town

By Yolande Hendler FEDUP, ISN, SDI No Comments

By Julia Stricker (on behalf of SDI Secretariat)

***Cross-posted from SDI Blog***

During a very successful learning exchange focused around settlement level data visualisation and mapping, community members from K2 and Green Park, two informal settlements in Cape Town, created digital maps of their neighbourhoods.

Siyaunya puts his head over the GPS device and enters the code for water tap, WT 001. Next he records the geographic coordinates of the location: -34.0289, 18.6731. He and his team repeat this process for every water tap and toilet in K2, the informal settlement in Khayelitsha that Siyaunya calls home. Different codes are used for each type of facility and with regards to their functional status. A broken toilet, for example, gets an N added to its code. These codes together with the coordinates form the raw data for the maps. Apart from the team mapping the basic services there are two other teams on the go to map the settlement boundaries and other interesting features like shops, taverns, and restaurants. Each of the three teams consists of community members, Informal Settlement Network (ISN) and Federation of the Urban Poor (FEDUP) members from across South Africa, and SDI federation members from India, Uganda and Ghana. The latter travelled to Cape Town to support the South African SDI Alliance in refining their digital mapping skills – skills that will help take SDI’s community mapping process to another level, making it easier and quicker, and increasing impact.

Through a hands-on, learning-by-doing approach Siyaunya and his fellow community members, most holding a GPS device for the first time that day, used these devices with confidence by the end of the day. They also understand that the need to stand next to the service or feature you are mapping is about more than getting an accurate reading on the GPS device. It is about the process of gaining intimate knowledge and understanding of one’s settlement and being able to share this knowledge with authority.

A geographic profile of the settlement consisting of the boundaries and the basic services, at a minimum, is a crucial part of the standardised profile. It is not enough to know the number of toilets – one also has to know their spatial distribution. If all the toilets of a settlement are located on one corner, the numbers alone are a bad indicator for the reality a woman from the other end of the settlement experiences when going to the toilet at night. The spatial dimension adds value to the data and is highly relevant for planning upgrading projects. To put it in a nutshell: Numbers are good – but maps make the numbers come alive. In addition to that John Samuel, from NSDF/SPARC India and part of the data team at SDI, points out that maps are more intuitive to understand than plain numbers and respond better to the variable literacy level of slum dwellers.

There is no perfect map and there never will be one. Maps are by nature abstractions and only a limited inventory of the reality on the ground, a complement of both objectively observable phenomena, as well as the subjective relationships to these. Bearing this in mind they remain highly important as a means to communicate our location in the world and our view on the world. The data used to generate maps of informal settlements must therefore be gathered by the slum dwellers themselves. Maps generated from community-collected data naturally put the emphasis on issues that matter to the community. This in turn is critical for the successful planning and implementation of slum upgrading projects

When speaking about Know Your City, Sumaya, a young delegate from the National Slum Dwellers Federation of Uganda (NSDFU) puts it like this:

“First you have to know what you have, then you can decide what you need, and only then you can tell somebody what you want. This is what Know(ing) Your City is all about.”

She was part of the team that profiled and mapped 62 settlements in the city of Kampala. The comprehensive report with the maps generated was handed over to the Kampala City Authority in September this year and is a good example how the data can be used to drive communities’ dialogues with government for slum upgrading and development at the city-wide scale. The profiling and mapping of settlements is a powerful tool for promoting active citizenship in communities of the urban poor.

SDI’s focus for the coming years will be to routinize and consolidate the learning around city-wide profiling and mapping for the cities it works with. Concretely, the idea of going city-wide is to push the federations to think beyond their existing network so as to include the voices of other settlements in the city, meet new leaders and together create concrete alternative plans with which they can begin to talk to their cities. Community mobilisation and mobilising city-wide federations are then also among the first goals Celine D’Cruz, SDI co-ordinator anchoring and supporting the data collection process for the SDI network, mentions when she talks about the Know Your City process. It is about the creation of a momentum of inclusion and of identity making for the community of the urban poor. Furthermore, the data collected supports the development of alternative participatory plans for slum upgrading strategies based on prioritised needs; it offers federations and communities at large the ability to monitor their own settlements and, last but not least, grounded and consolidated data at the local level, once aggregated, opens up the space for advocacy at the national and global level.

The maps of K2 and Green Park were visualised the same weekend and brought back to the respective settlements. They are as different as the settlements themselves are. Spread out Green Park contrasts with dense K2. In the latter, all the toilets are located on one site, leading to a situation mentioned above, where a map paints a clearer picture of reality then just numbers.

The learning exchange made clear that settlement profiling and mapping is an essential tool to leverage upgrading, monitor settlements and for regional and global advocacy. The young leaders from K2 and Green Park definitely seemed eager to continue the work and make the realities and needs of the city’s urban poor majority visible through maps.

Nov 06

Love0

SA Alliance supports Swaziland to engage Government Around Upgrading Policy

By Yolande Hendler CORC, FEDUP, SDI No Comments

By Kwanele Sibanda (on behalf of CORC)

From 29 October – 2 November 2014 the South African Alliance travelled to Swaziland to support communities in their work with government around a national upgrading policy currently under review. The exchange aimed at looking into Swaziland’s draft policy on land allocations and procedure that is likely to cause evictions. The engagements were between municipality officials, Zone leaders and the local federation.

Group photo of Mayors, Councillors, SLIPO & FEDUP members

The Kingdom of Swaziland

The Kingdom of Swaziland is located in Southern Africa and is land locked . The Swazi Nation Land, which is communal, is held in trust by the King and parts of it are allocated by Chiefs to individual Swazi families for their use. Swaziland has four administrative regions which are further divided into 55 Tinkhundla Centres (Local Administration) these form the basic unit of political administration. Political parties were banned from the constitution promulgated on 13 October 1978.

The local federation

The federation of Swaziland is known as SLIPO (Swaziland Low Income People’s Organization). No local support NGO has been established as yet.The federation activities are currently being anchored by John Dlamini who has supported the federation from its revival in 2011.In 2008 an exchange was held to Zambia and it was attended by municipal officials and zone leaders. Upon their return, they established the federation with a lot of support from the municipality.An MOU was submitted to the national government in 2012; however no formal feedback was given back to the federation.Out of Swaziland’s total of four regions, the federation is in two regions namely: Manzini and Hhohho.The other two regions that have not yet been mobilized are Lubombo and Shiselweni.SLIPO’s membership is currently at 429 and they have R498 333.00 in savings.The federation is currently in the process of building a federation office that is being funded by SDI.

SLIPO Federation Office Near Completion

Challenges posed by Swaziland’s draft policy on upgrading

In 2008, residents of Mbabane were informed that the government is working on a policy around upgrading; however it is asserted that no further consultation was held with the respective communities. Without much knowledge about the implications of the policy; the communities remained relaxed. As SLIPO intensified its engagements with the state in 2014, it came to light that the policy had reached an advanced stage and if it is not attended; its implementation may come with more harm than good for the poor communities. To start off the process, the policy shall be implemented with an intention of upgrading 9 areas around Mbabane and that will affect Ward 1, 2, 3, part of 7, 11 and 12. Each Ward is divided into Zones.The Land Allocations Policy and Procedure went through council and passed. It was recommended that it be forwarded to the Minister and it is currently with him for approval before it is forwarded to cabinet. The first and direct negative implication of the policy especially to the poor is that; he who cannot afford a site estimated at R42 000 shall be required to seek a new place of residence (in a form that can be described as eviction). According to the state, the aim of selling the sites is that of raising funds for service installation. As SLIPO grows to another stage within the SDI alliance; it encountered a challenge that requested support; hence the request for the South African alliance to go and support. .

Day 1: Preparatory Meeting

As SLIPO and South African delegates met in preparation for the meeting with the Mayor, they explained the background,origins and implications of the problematic draft policy to the South African visitors and requested them to focus their presentation on how the Federation of the Urban Poor (FEDUP) partnered with government and what they have achieved. SLIPO further explained that:

mobilizes and organises members in informal and formal wards because there is a great percentage that is struggling to pay rates and taxes and run at a risk of having their properties seized.
SLIPO would like to mobilise and organize communities, use SDI tools and be able to influence policies and the manner in which they are drafted
its challenge within the Municipality is a lack of proper handover of information

Meeting the Mayors and the councillors

Four councillors, seven SLIPO representatives and four SASDI alliance delegates attended the meeting. These included the Mayor of Mbabane, the Mayor of Manzini, the Representing Mayor of Ngwenya and the Mayor of Piggs Peak. SLIPO first presented its background, aims and objectives, member, savings UPF, loans, projects as well as areas covered. The SASDI alliance’s presentation gave an overview of SDI, tools, S.A partnerships with the state and other formal institutions as well as achievements. The various representatives explained how working closely with saving and organized communities results in meaningful development.

In his response, the Mayor indicated that he is impressed with the presentations and approach taken.He enlightened delegates about the differences between S.A and Swaziland: While South Africa has three spheres of government (national, provincial and local), Swaziland only has national and local. In addition to the above, the local municipalities rely on rates and taxes payment as funds for development; hence the need to sell plots and install infrastructure. The municipalities have a serious budget constraint because they do not get a budget allocation from national for service installation and maintenance. Funds received from national are for subsidizing service provision that is made to areas that do not pay rates and taxes.The Mayor furthermore emphasized that if there are such communities that are taking a stand in development; the state and SLIPO have to jointly have a model that clearly states how the process is going to be undertaken. Lastly, it was indicated that for SLIPO to be recognized as a national structure, it has to cover all the four regions of Swaziland.

Patrick Matsemela from North West FEDUP presenting to Zone leaders

Day 2: Meeting with Zone Leaders

On day two of the exchange, a meeting was held between SLIPO saving scheme leaders, Zone leaders and the SASDI delegates. Zone leaders are equivalent to community leaders in the South African context. The aim of meeting them was that of: sharing the SDI concept with them, reporting on what SLIPO has been doing in form of saving schemes, share report back from meeting with the Mayors and Councillors and also requesting their support in establishing more saving schemes in their respective Zones.

The zone leaders were informed about the upgrading policy and also reminded that it is everyone’s challenge therefore a joint effort is required in finding a better solution. The estimated cost of each plot is around R42 000 and that will require at least a R600 contribution per member per month for at least five years. It was mentioned that the majority of residents are unemployed and for those that are employed they hardly earn R3 000 per month.

The leaders basically denounced the displacement of residents in the name of development and furthermore pledged to support SLIPO in mobilizing communities and engaging the government in a workable solution to the challenge.

Day 3: Meeting with Saving Scheme Leaders

On day three the saving scheme leaders met to report back the previous days’ engagements, share savings reports, discuss mobilization and establish more saving schemes. Some of the outcomes were:

SLIPO would request monthly joint meetings to share its work and request participation from relevant officials
SLIPO saving scheme leaders to discuss and agree on a reasonable affordable amount of savings contributions
Leaders have a task of drafting an MOU directed to the Municipality of Mbabane as recommended

Some Lessons Learnt

Swaziland has a different governing system (only national and local government)
SLIPO’s savings figures with limited support from the state and other institutions reflect a great commitment level
The lesson on the importance of savings as practiced in Swaziland can be of great use if taken seriously in South Africa. In Swaziland Saving scheme with as few members as 15 have more than 25 000 in savings and these are savings that started in 2011. The statistics show a great level of commitment.
SLIPO is a fairly new federation without much of projects or formal partnerships established, but the unity amongst members and moral is a great starting point for success.

Leaders of different saving schemes gather after meeting with SASDI delegates

Nov 01

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SA Alliance at National Human Settlements Indaba 2014

By Yolande Hendler CORC, FEDUP, ISN, News, Press, SDI, uTshani Fund No Comments

By Yolande Hendler (on behalf of CORC)

FEDUP members welcome Minister Lindiwe Sisulu and Deputy Minister Zoe Kota-Fredericks at the SDI Exhibition booth

Twenty years after Joe Slovo’s historic Botshabelo Housing Accord, Lindiwe Sisulu, incumbent minister of Human Settlements, invited stakeholders in the human settlements sector to the National Human Settlements Indaba and Exhibition, which was held at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg from 16-17 October 2014. This included the Federation of the Urban Poor (FEDUP) on behalf of the SA SDI Alliance and Shack/Slum Dwellers International (SDI),

Aims of the Indaba

The Indaba not only marked twenty years of South African democracy but also ten years after the first social contract was signed in 2004 during Sisulu’s first term as Minister of Housing from 2004-2009. The first social contract, similarly, brought together a number of stakeholders in the housing field to discuss and sign an agreement regarding co-operative and collaborative housing practice which would pursue the aims of the then newly launched housing policy: Breaking New Ground (BNG): A framework for Sustainable Housing Development. BNG largely focuses on “promoting the achievement of a non-racial, integrated society through the development of sustainable human settlements and quality housing”. Click here for more on BNG policy. Ten years later, however, the implementation of BNG has been only partially successful.

Against this backdrop, the 2014 Indaba aimed to:

Review progress in the implementation of BNG
Review the impact of the Social Contract for Rapid Housing signed in 2005
Commit stakeholders to a second social contract towards 1.5million housing opportunities by 2019.

Rose Molokoane and SDI delegates from Uganda, Tanzania and Zimbabwe

South African and International SDI delegates at Exhibition booth

Day 1: Pledges towards a second social contract

Amidst actors such as the South African Banking Association, the Chamber of Mines, construction companies and trade union representatives (to mention but a few), SDI and the SA Alliance voiced the interests of the urban poor and advocated for an inclusion of the urban poor in planning, decision-making and implementation.

During the first day’s introductions, Jockin Arputham, SDI President and Nobel Peace Prize Nominee, shared a message of support ahead of the minister’s keynote address which is outlined here. In the afternoon contributors pledged their commitments to the second social contract.

SDI President Jockin Arputham with Minister Lindiwe Sisulu and Deputy Minister Zoe Kota-Fredericks

Jockin Arputham speaks at Press Briefing with Minister Sisulu and Director General Zulu

The SA SDI Alliance Pledge

In response to the Department’s larger orientation, Rose Molokoane, national co-ordinator of FEDUP, powerfully shared the pledge of the SA SDI Alliance:

FEDUP pledges to work with national, provincial and local government to deliver 1000 housing actions every month, improving the life of 1000 households. These actions will include

1) Organising communities through savings

2) Upgrading services such as water, sanitation, drainage, energy and roads

3) Building bigger and better houses

4) Advising the ministry on how to work with communities and organise them to be full stakeholders

We also commit to draw other organisations of the urban poor into the pledge as equal partners. We cannot do this alone. You cannot do this alone. You need our help. “We know the minister is serious about supporting us. What about the MEC’s? What about the local authorities? Are you?

View Rose Molokoane’s speech here:

[vimeo]https://vimeo.com/110123793[/vimeo]

Day 2: Reviewing BNG projects & the second social contract

The second day of the Indaba concluded with presentations by several MECs on the successes and challenges of implementing BNG projects in four provinces, followed by the reading and signing of the second social contract. The specifc commitments of the second social contract are documented here.

Rose & Jockin sign the second social contract on behalf of SA SDI Alliance and SDI

Throughout the Indaba the minister repeatedly referred to the value and experience of SDI and the South African Alliance’s work in forming an inclusive atmosphere that engages the urban poor around their own housing development.

Over the last twenty years the SA SDI Alliance has developed an ongoing partnership with the Department which spans from the signing of the Botshabelo accord in 1994, participating in the 2005 national housing accord, the signing of the first social contract in 2005, the 2006 MoU pledge with the Department for subsidies of R285million with which FEDUP has built over 2000 houses to the Department’s most recent pledge of R10million in August 2014.

Throughout FEDUP’s partnership with the Department its core vision has always been: “Nothing for us without Us”. This message is also at the heart of FEDUP’s pledge. As the second social contract is implemented in the next five years, it is the collective vision, experience and practice of the urban poor that is crucial to a truly inclusive implementation not only of housing but also of incremental, in-situ informal settlement upgrading as a vital step towards attaining housing and tenure security.

“We cannot do this alone. You cannot do this alone. You need our help.”

(Rose Molokoane)

Oct 24

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SA and Zim Federations reach out to Botswana

By Yolande Hendler CORC, FEDUP, ISN, uTshani Fund No Comments

By Kwanele Sibanda (on behalf of CORC)

The Republic of Botswana is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa. It is bordered by South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe. It is a mid-sized country of just over two million people. Environmentally, Botswana faces two major problems: drought and desertification. Despite its middle-income status, Botswana continues to grapple with significant social challenges including unequal distribution of wealth, high levels of poverty, unemployment and HIV/AIDS prevalence. On health issues, the prevalence of HIV/AIDS was estimated at 24% for adults in 2006. In the fight against the disease the government of Botswana solicited outside help in fighting HIV/AIDS and received early support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

The Minister purchasing some of the federation's income generating products Between 16 – 19 October, South African and Zimbabwean federations associated to Shack / Slum Dwellers International (SDI) reached out to the young and emerging Botswana federation. The federation of Botswana was initially mobilized by the Zimbabwean federation and established in 2011 in Francistown as a community based organisation, which has since expanded to Gaborone, Selibe, Maun and Phikwe. The NGO called Trust for Community Initiatives (TFCI) was registered on the 31st of May 2012 as a non profit trust. The NGO is currently staffed 2 full time staff members and 3 board members oversee governance.

This exchange was in the making for a few months. Following the nomination in Francistown where the Botswana federation was mentioned for best practices in fighting poverty in June 2014, the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development (Peter L. Siele) requested a meeting with the federation in Francistown on 17 October 2014. Since the Botswana federation is still at its early stages of development, it requested the support of the Zimbabwean and the South African federations. The Minister witnessed three projects that the federation members do: traditional attires and baskets, poultry and a cool drink making business. The minister and his team were taken around while the project leaders explained how the businesses are conducted.

Minister visits poultry project

On the morning of the 17th, prior to the commencement of the meeting with the Honourable Minister, a brief planning session was held with the hosts to look into the program and also strategize on key objectives intended to be achieved from the exchange. During the planning session the Zimbabwean and South African delegates were encouraged to focus their presentation more on savings, partnerships and projects. The meeting on 17 October was attended by:

Botswana
- Federation of Botswana – Francistown, Maun, Gaborone, Selibe and Phikwe
- Trust for Community Initiatives – Goitsemang B. Maano and Mark
- Officials: Minister of Local Government and Rural Development – Peter L. Siele, Town Clerk – L. Israel, Office of the District Commissioner – Opelo, Head of Community Development – Mrs Phama, Deputy Mayor of Francistown – Mrs Phama

Zimbabwa
- Zimbabwe Homeless People’s Federation– Sekai Catherine Chiremba, Sazini Ndlovu, R. Ncube.
- Dialogue on Shelter– Beth Chitekwe and Givemore Nyamaponda

South Africa
- FEDUP– Maureen, Sophy and Sarah
- CORC– Kwanele Sibanda

The federation welcomes the Minister

The Botswana Federation outlined the growth of the movement over the past three years, expanding their reach from Francistown to Selibe, Phikwe, Gaborone and Maun. 42 saving schemes have been established and the total number of active members is 1,126 (1036 females and 90 males). Their total daily savings to date is P (Botswana pula) 257 807.91 (ZAR310,000) and the balance of their Urban Poor Fund is P20 834.85 (ZAR 25,000). Public health is a major focus area for the Federation, and projects have included installation of water taps, electricity and flush toilets. They also have income generating projects such as poultry and catering.

The Zimbabwe federation followed and outlined the work of SDI in Southern Africa. They challenged the minister to meet the Botswana federation’s savings and enter into a partnership agreement. The South African federation spoke about their “pledge” agreement / MoU with the Department of Human Settlements as tool for long term engagement. they argued that to enhance their work so as to support more communities, the government- community partnerships different level to build more than 15 000 quality houses by ourselves for ourselves. In working with the government we always emphasize that the Batho Pele (People First) principle must be applied.

When the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development replied, he addressed the needs of the Botswana federation by outlining some of the programs that different government departments are offering in line with what the federation is doing. He furthermore encouraged them to take advantage of funds such as those offered by the Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs (MLHA). The Women’s Affairs Department is mandated to facilitate mainstreaming of Gender Issues in the development process. As a way of empowering women’s CBOs, the Government of Botswana allocates funds to the Women’s Affairs Department annually in order to assist the organisations.

On 18 October, the Zimbabwean, South African and Botswana Federations exchanged ideas on community-centred development.

We are savings for land, to build houses as well as other projects.
We are contributing UPF so that we can give each other loans
We had an incident were some group members contributed towards UPF, but the treasure did not deposit the money.
It is difficult for me to distinguish between daily savings and UPF
We started the UPF contributions after an exchange to Gwanda in Zimbabwe; however after report back and starting not many members understood the concept.

Botswana federation during the UPF group discussion

One member of the exchange reported that,

I am so grateful for the exchange has enlightened me on many federation issues especially the Urban Poor Fund.

Another said that

We feel motivated by the presentations made by the federations that have been doing the work for many years and we are inspired to grow our federation the same way.

Ongoing support to the Botswana Federation will be focused on getting the Urban Poor Fund up and running. In group sessions, discussions from delegates from Zimbabwe and South Africa were advising on writing key points that relate to UPF in their respective countries. Botswana was on the other hand listing what they have so far been using as principles around UPF. As a way forward it was agreed that a final decision of principles around UPF cannot be taken in the particular meeting because consultation first has to be made from a savings scheme level; however an agreement was reached on what the respective saving schemes have to input towards a final national UPF policy.

Oct 22

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Khayelitsha groups fire up bread ovens

By Yolande Hendler CORC, FEDUP, ISN, uTshani Fund No Comments

By Walter Fieuw and Thandeka Tsabalala

An emerging focus area for the SA SDI Alliance is sustainable social enterprises and creating more options to access livelihoods opportunities. Informal areas are characterized by a diversity of income generating activities. In Khayelitsha, Cape Town, FEDUP and ISN have opted to investigate the feasibility of baking breads with an innovative oven and pre-mix design a supplier called Mama Mimis. 10 ovens was pre-finances with the view on recovering the costs as baker groups start making profits on their goods.

IMG-20141008-WA0002

Between 7 and 8 October, ten groups from across Khayelitsha gathered at FEDUP member Mama Darkie’s crèche in Makazha. The groups were in high spirits as their assembled the components of the Mama Mimis oven, which is known for its robust design and heat retention. The oven is but a means towards a sustainable business in a group context. The group dynamic of the saving scheme is a particular intervention of FEDUP and ISN, to ensure that the value created stays in a group rather than accruing with one person. This requires fine planning to ensure that everyone receives benefit from the business, but also creates an opportunity to rotate the baking function, and to focus on the value chain of business activities: marketing, producing more products (sandwiches, pizzas, sweet treats, etc)

IMG-20141008-WA0009

IMG-20141008-WA0004

The groups each had a chance to make bread dough, prime it in the pre-heated oven, and then bake the breads. Various scenarios were presented and the groups had to come up with a solution to the problems. For instance, imagine a busy taxi rank where there are a number of traders. How will the group sell their bread among the competition? One group responded by saying that the key will be to have a consistent product at a good price. Their proposed product was a half-bread with polony and mayonnaise, which they could sell at R12, making almost 100% profit.

Image courtesy of Mama Mimis

The groups have started their bakeries by now. Some groups are fairing better than others, due to careful considering of location, product offering, and consistency. FEDUP and ISN have created exchange programmes to help struggling groups learn from groups performing better. Going forward, this support will be continued until the groups are all realizing the potentials of the business opportunity.

FEDUP

Rolling out Lumkani Fire Device: Preventing Fires, Upgrading Communities

Launch of Upgrading at Flamingo Crescent with Cape Town Mayor Patricia de Lille

Savings Symposium: Strong Savings Make Us Alive

Alliance youth generate income through clearing alien vegetation

FEDUP launches livelihood programs: solar lights, funeral scheme & income generation

Putting K2 and Green Park on the Map – Mapping Exchange in Cape Town

SA Alliance supports Swaziland to engage Government Around Upgrading Policy

SA and Zim Federations reach out to Botswana

Khayelitsha groups fire up bread ovens

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