Unfortunately Connectivity 2011 in South Africa will not be taking place, plans for such an event are postponed indefinitely until a new initiative comes about.please direct any questions to mail@idem-network.org
We hope that the gathered information and contacts on this Blog can be used to get in touch with all of these exciting project. More project information can be added here at any point…
There are many Youth Meetings and networking opportunities through out the world…for some information check out these websites:
http://www.culturetalent.co.za
Aweh Youth Groups
The aweh youth groups are groups of young people, who mostly stay in little fisher villages along the south coast and west coast of the western cape and are attending a programme of the NGO people to people, run by Coleridge Daniels who has worked with youth at risk.
The programme the Aweh (slang for “Aware”) youth groups go through consists of community work in their villages, self and group development sessions as well as a training for the young people in business, computer and environmental skills.
The aim of the project is to empower and train these young people to set up their own business as a cooperative, to be aware of the needs that are in their communities and respond to them.
In those communities, there are no jobs, no possibilities for young people to get further skills and education and transport to bigger towns is hard to access and mainly to expensive for people to afford regularly. Mostly, the only work that is available in these areas is domestic work in the white households around. These jobs are really poorly paid though and also don’t contain any perspectives for the young people.
Fishing, which used to be the main income of most families has become much harder, as big international fishing companies with industrial boats have taken over this job, leaving hardly any fish in the sea. Additionally, from the side of the government, restrictions on how many fish local people that don’t work in a registered company can catch, have been introduced, so that in order to make a living out of fishing, many people do it illegally and at night.
A possible involvement with these initiatives of the young people in Connectivity could be all sorts of Community work being done at the Action day of the Conference. The young people we met were really interested in being part of a bigger picture and international network.
Preparatory Group
There are two groups at present ready to take up the preparatory work in their area, one in Johannesburg and one in Cape Town. There seems to be a commitment on the part of each to take on this process and to work with the international group to make it happen.
Besides this, there are individuals in both groups who want to establish an Idem platform to support one another and become active in the near future rather than waiting for the conference. In Johannesburg they want to look for activities and in Cape Town there are already people connected to projects.
These groups want to work together with us in Europe to develop their vision of what this work means and how to organise themselves.
Venue and Date
At the moment we are negotiating with the University of Stellenbosch (US) and the University of the Western Cape (UWC). Both are open, have the facilities we need, and are awaiting approval from their boards for either January or July 2011. April is not an option, as their students do not vacate the residences at this time.
Most other universities in the country do not come into question, as they do not have the facilities we need
UCT – don’t hire facilities to external organisations – hall only seats 1000
Technical University, University of Johannesburg, Witwatersrand University, all do not have the facilities
The only other in the country would be Rhodes in Grahamstown, or, at a pinch, Pretoria.
Organic Food Suppliers
Both Abalimi Bezekhaya and Soil for Life have agreed to supply fresh vegetables from what is in season at the time.
The Ethical Co-op is able to supply dry goods and processed foods and has connections with organic farmers whom we can contact.
The Biodynamic Association is interested in being a part of the conference, and is still to give me the contacts to their members.
Altogether, it seems not be problem to find sufficient suppliers for the vegetarian part, and there are 2 butcheries supplying organic meat in Cape Town.
Workcamps
There are 20 workcamp projects that have committed to holding a workcamp so far, with 7 still to be confirmed.
Confirmed are: Abalimi Bezekhaya, Bonintwentle, Rankoromane, Food for Thought, Gaia School, Keiskamma, Hermanus Waldorf School, Ikwezi Lokusa, Imhoff School, Mothers Unite, Noluthando, Nomphumelelo, Petervale Farm, Siyakha, Soil for Life, Syazakha, Vulamasango, Zion Apostolic Church. Ntonga Music School, TransCape. 
Processes have also begun to connect certain of the projects with persons who can assist in building design and supervision, as well as other areas.
Funding needs
At the second of the meetings in Cape Town, some people from the township outlined that they had no work, and could afford neither the transport costs to meetings, nor to provide a meal or snacks for the group if they met in their area.
It was possible to obtain a small amount of funding through support of the Anthroposophical Society in the Western Cape, which wants to support the conference and is prepared to pay for transport and actual costs of running the meetings.
Organisational support
Persons from both the Olive Leaf Foundation and the CDRA (Community Development Resource Association) are committed to Connectivity and want to support its preparation, as well as other individuals who have skills in group work, facilitation, etc.
In addition, some members of the Anthroposophical Society who are engaged in Community work have offered to form a kind of quiet support circle in case their help is required in some way for the success of the conference.
Gaia Waldorf School
Oude Molen Village, Cape Town City
Homepage: www.gaiawaldorf.co.za
The school is on the grounds of the traditional Oude Molen Village, which used to house a psychiatric clinic, vegetable gardens and other undertakings in buildings that are today declared national monuments. So the school rents space their year by year and has grown over the last period to such an extent that they need larger rooms to house the classes. 
They have a playgroup and 2 Kindergarten units followed by seven primary classes. The whole school is completely multicultural, with children from all races and cultural backgrounds, as well as income groups, and an integrated staff as well. The facilities are not large, but provide a wonderful enclosed space with a warm and caring atmosphere and a sense for aesthetics.
To discover more about the school, view their Homepage here: www.gaiawaldorf.co.za.
While these buildings are monuments, many are in need of considerable renovation before they can be used once again, particularly as classrooms. So each year they have had to negotiate for more space and undertake repairs to the buildings they are to occupy. xFor January this year, 
they will once again prepare two larger rooms upstairs above their present rooms, necessitating the soundproofing of floors, new doors, repairs on the roof, partitioning and general decoration.
For 2011 it is not possible to say exactly what the most urgent needs will be, but it will entail work something along these lines. Other projects they wish to undertake are the extension of the playground behind the school and new upstairs facilities.
Zion Reformed Apostolic Church
Makhasa, Cape Town. 
Contact person: Rev. Wilmot Mthimbu
The Church:
Wilmott Mthimbu has served in his church for many years and is well-known and much respected throughout the neighborhood. In an area with much criminality and hopelessness among the youth, such a presence is always of great benefit to those around.
His building is a larger version of the normal 3M x 3M corrugated iron shack – 6M x 6M, is rather unstable and when it rains, the water pours in through the middle. Recently, in a powerful storm, the entire structure blew off and has to be erected once again. At best it is a temporary arrangement and he has waited for years to be able to build an appropriate and substantial church building. 
There has also been a delay in the allocation of the land by the City Council, as there is still some unclarity about the zoning of church sites. In the meantime, however, the group of churchmen negotiating on behalf of all of them has given him the go-ahead to build and sort out the details later. After consulting an architect on this, his advice, too, was that this, under prevailing conditions, was a sound procedure.
The next step is to work with an architect to design a building that the elders and congregation can agree on and that meets the medium-term needs of the church. Once this has happened, we can plan the first phase of building at a workcamp before or after the Connectivity Conference.
McGregor Waldorf School
McGregor, Western Cape
Contact persons: Katleen Verschoore and Peter Holloway.
Homepage: www.mcgregorwaldorf.org.za
McGregor is a village in the mountainous region of the Western Cape, somewhat south of the town of Worcester at the end of the valley. From here the road goes no further, so it is quiet, traditional and has retained the charm of its architecture and surroundings.
But for 15 years now this school has worked and developed from small beginnings for a few families to an educational centre serving the communities of Zolani (township of Ashton), Nqubela (township of Robertson) and McGregor. Its position gives it the possibility of being a truly integrated school, with white, black and coloured children receiving a high level of education. There is a hostel housing 28 children from the rest of the country, while busses bring those from the surroundings. 
The vision of the school is really centred around answering the needs of the children of this particular community, with different academic levels, an emphasis on drama, art and skills training.
To date they have hired buildings for their high school from the owners of the site on which an old church hall and school is situated. They own the land on which their lower school and kindergarten stand. Now, as the land where the high school is, is to be developed for housing, they have to relocate their high school and build on their own grounds.
Gloria Bukwana is assisting in their Kindergarten and wants to establish one in Zolani, so that the little children do not have to travel so far every day. 
One of the high school teachers is also working on an initiative to build a training centre and farm for high school students to learn non-academic skills based on organic farming, woodcrafts, welding and metalwork which is to function as a small business in which people from 16 years upward can train.
They have a commitment as an Eco-school, and want to gradually alter all existing facilities like water storage, water heating, clearance and so on onto an ecological basis.
The possibilities for one or two workcamps exist, but at this stage we do not have specific indications. The school will let us know when they have decided nearer the time.
Food for Thought
Stanford, Western Cape South Coast.
Homepage: www.f4t4kids.co.za
The project Food4thought started some 7 years ago to meet the need of the growing population of squatters and migrant families settling in the Stanford area. There was no facility at all at the time. Maryanne Ward therefore began to help a number of the local women get training in childcare and organise to have some existing buildings fixed up to house a Kindergarten. 
In the meantime this has extended to include a group of under-three year olds, a community room and a room with art materials and workspace which should in time server to provide enrichment to the education of some of the older children in the community.
This project is one of a number that Maryanne is involved in in Stanford, with the idea of providing a more sustainable environment for the whole Stanford area and its growing population. 
The buildings have been well restored and provide enough space for 40 children of Kindergarten age, an office, community room, art room and a house for the very small children, with cots and spaces to care for them.
It cannot be predicted right at the moment what is to be done in 2011 around Connectivity. There is always a lot to do, as the whole project is still incomplete and in development, but there is landscaping and renovation work to be done, there are many needs in the surrounding community and we are prepared to undertake what is found by the project to be most needed at the time.
Hermanus Waldorf School
Homepage: www.hermanuswaldorf.co.za
The School is situated 5 minutes from the centre of Hermanus, in Sandbaai, close to Zwelihle and Mount Pleasant, within sight of the sea. 
The school began as an integrated Kindergarten at the Camphill School in The Hemel-en-Aarde Valley in 1994. As the children reached school age a Class One was started in rented accommodation within Camphill. In July 2001 the whole school moved to their present location, a 2 hectare plot leased from the Hermanus Municipality in Sandbaai on a 99 year lease. The Municipality supports the work with previously disadvantaged children and children orphaned by Aids.
The school has grown in the last years and there are now well over 200 children in the two Kindergarten classes and the Primary School up to Class 7. They are an independent school, registered with the Western Cape Education Department as a ‘Not for Profit Organisation’.
The whole place is beautifully cared for, and in a process of steady development.
As there is now a waiting list for the Kindergarten, there is need for another Kindergarten room. It is possible to house this temporarilly in another room, but the intention is to build once there is an overall design. 
Besides this, the old wooden structure by the vegetable garden is beginning to break up and would need urgent renonvation. The school has also managed to get additional land and a large area has been filled and leveled for a sportsfield, which, however, still needs to have soil fill and then be planted with grass.
Any one of these areas of work could form the focus of a workcamp around the Connectivity conference.
2nd Conectivity Meeting, Cape Town
4 October 2009, Municipality Boardroom, Mfuleni
Nomonde Buthelezi had booked the boardroom of the local town council for us. We met with a group of largely new people – some who had not been able to make it to the last meeting, a number of new people and about 6 who had been there previously.
This time, after introductions and conversation about what had brought us together, we looked more closely at the Connectivity Conference itself, with its Workcamps, its Marketplace, Craft Village, Art and Culture Village, Action Day, and overall conference program of workshops, symposiums, cultural events, etc.
The feelings were positive overall, with a clear indication from a number of people that they felt committed to making this happen, while for some others, the idea was still too new to be able to stimulate much comment.
Discussion on people’s personal situation brought out many issues which need consideration if we are going to work in a meaningful partnership with people who are living in these township communities, with their unemployment, de-motivating personal circumstances and difficult transport situation. Many people seldom leave their close community and spend days on end getting up in the morning, eating, watching television, talking in the streets and retiring to bed at night. If we want to hold meetings in which these communities can be represented in a meaningful manner, we would have to consider the basic costs of public transport, or, better still, a car pool to wherever the meeting is to take place. Even the money to buy some tea and snacks for the meeting is often lacking.
So clearly, in working together and forming a kind of consolidated preparatory group, where there is a space for people to talk freely about their deeper issues, learn to trust one another and become friends, this personal understanding of everyone’s circumstances is crucial.
On the other hand, there is also no expectation that Idem or Connectivity are going to change people’s circumstances, fund everything, offer employment and so on. The voluntary nature of the work is clear and accepted by all – realising that such an initiative is also a step in getting out of the rut in which people may find themselves and bringing initiative, connections and action.
In building a bridge between the social and economic gaps in South Africa, this attempt at starting with people who have no money or economic power, attaining to a certain clarity about their real needs, dreams, ambitions and possibilities, this unhurried, step by step understanding form a solid basis.
On the other hand, the question remains, what can each one offer, what work needs to be done, etc? For the present, discovering the personal lives and situation of the others, what the really want in life and what they have come to see as what the opportunities in their communities are is sufficient. It was suggested that people could meet at and view one another’s projects, perhaps spending a day here or their getting involved in helping in some of the work.
At the next meeting on Sunday 11 October at the Community Centre in Lavender Hill, these questions, will form the basis of discussion.
It was also agreed that the group SMS is the most efficient means of communicating with everyone about key information, as many people do not have emails or access to the internet.
We look forward to another meeting with everyone who has been involved so far present and are trying to invite as widely as possible.
Greenhaus Architects
Greenhaus Architects is a small company specialising in sustainable, green architecture. It is founded and run by Etienne Bruwer and has done work all over South Africa and at every level of society, with many community projects in different townships. 
Besides design, Etienne also organises courses in eco-building, using techniques such as cob, adobe, strawbale, rammed earth and narural dry stone, trying to get away from the excessive use of steel, cement and so on. His buildings often have a basic structure of gum poles, with shallow rounded roofs and corners.
Besides this work, he co-manages the conferences of SUSTAINABILITY IN THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT and cooperates with numerous groups and partners in the field.
His interest in Idem goes back some years and he could become involved in a number of our building projects.
www.greenhaus.co.za
Jara
leticiarheingantz
eric
