By Thabiso Sekhula
I’ve been on the road for the past week exploring the many beautiful places in Limpopo and Mpumalanga. Our itinerary is a mix of visiting tourism gems in both provinces as well as days where we give back to non-profit organisations doing great work along the route.
The trip is an initiative by Sasol to get people to travel to and around Mzansi as well as give back to communities situated near filling stations.
And in the heart of these game reserve territories is a community that is learning to be part of an ecosystem that takes care of itself and those around it.
The Nourish eco-village, situated on five hectares of land in Sigagule, near Bushbuckridge in Mpumalanga, was started in 2011 and has a school, training centre, sports centre, veggie garden, feeding scheme and computer literacy hub for the children of the village and those from nearby wildlife community villages.
An ecovillage community aims to become socially, culturally, economically and ecologically sustainable and strives to produce the least possible negative impact on the natural environment
Nourish offers free education and care services for 65 children in its creche and 103 kids who come to the centre for after-school activities.
The kids receive a meal every day before starting their activities, which centre on teaching them the opportunities available in their wildlife community and the responsibility of caring for the environment.
They have reading days and computer days, learn about taking care of animals, play sports, learn to sew and help each other with homework.
Girls are provided with reusable sanitary pads and facilities to make and wash them.
The village strives to be self-sustaining and the children help with planting and harvesting veggies to provide healthy and nourishing ingredients for the school kitchen.
The village sells second-hand clothes for R20 and has a modern container restaurant on the property for visitors.
Nourish employs 38 workers from the local community, some of whose art is sold at the gift shop next to the restaurant. The artworks come with a photo of the artist next to their work, together with their stories.
Visitors can book a massage at the bush spa or spend time playing pool at the bar.
The village survives not only on grants and donations but also on clever and innovative ways the villagers have devised to answer the immediate needs of their community.
Nourish is an example of a system that can start small and grow to solve more and more problems for communities near wildlife reserves, while creating employment opportunities.
To assist the school, Sasol has donated scooters for the creche kids, books, balls and toys.
Email [email protected] for more information on the Nourish eco-village.
Pictured above: A glimpse of Nourish eco-village.
Image source: Thabiso Sekhula
