Page 21 - Dainfern Precinct Living June 2022

Precinct Living

small group of community- be exchanged for food that had been include inter alia, the establishment of
spirited residents of the Thabo donated. This exchange would give food gardens, the rehabilitation of
Mbeki informal settlement, residents a sense of purpose and dignity pre-schools in the area, facilities for
T
A hulani Molefe, Elizabeth rather than just lining up for handouts. sports tournaments, entrepreneurial
Kelobetswe and Mongi Mabadi, formed These bottles, when filled with rubbish, development programmes, and
Tiisetso (means ‘perseverance’ in Pedi) are called Eco Bricks. helping and supporting residents in
Community Projects NPC at the height their search to find employment. Over
of the COVID pandemic. At the time, The project was a great success - so the last 5 months alone, more than 60
the community of approximately 6 000 much so, that thousands of bottles people from the settlement have been
residents was heavily reliant on the were collected, and the focus moved placed in jobs in the formal sector
goodwill of people in the surrounding to finding a use for the bottles that because of the direct involvement of
areas for food parcels and basic would in turn serve the community. Tiisetso.
essentials. It quickly became clear that After some research, the concept of
handouts were not sustainable and, building a community skills centre The members of Tiisetso have plans
whilst food items were desperately using the bottles as bricks, was for other innovative projects to
needed, the residents felt somewhat mooted and adopted. The centre was further promote economic and social
degraded by having to rely on others finished in 2021 and now serves as development of communities. Should
to survive. a hub for several initiatives aimed at you wish to find out more about the
the economic and social upliftment projects and this special group of
As a result, the idea was born to start of the settlement and its immediate people, the best person to speak to is
exchanging food parcels for 2l plastic surroundings. Willem Lindeque. He has been active
bottles filled with rubbish. This project in supporting residents in the Lanseria
would require residents to collect 2 litre Other projects that have been initiated area for the last 10 years and he can be
plastic bottles, and the bottles would by this small group of residents contacted on 076 423 6570.

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