Sustainability Plan

The main accomplishment of our project was creating methods to make the Indlovu Project self-sustainable. We worked to form ideas in the areas of job creation, marketing the guest house and volunteer program and fund-raising. The plan also addresses concerns the project faces in becoming community-run including hiring methods and minimising tall poppy syndrome. The main accomplishments of our team all fall within the sustainability plan that was presented to the Shaster Foundation at the end of our work.

Sewing Centre Prototype

Our team further explored the work of the 2008 Economy Team in setting up a sewing centre as part of the Indlovu Project. We ran a small sewing centre experiment to help determine plans for a future full scale sewing centre. We purchased one industrial machine to help determine the best way to train community members with no past sewing experience. Our team created a guide for setting up the sewing machine and  wrote a proposal for a full sewing centre including new ideas for hiring within the Indlovu Project and expansion options.

Improving the Indlovu Experience

Visitors who come stay in the guest house and volunteers who live at the Indlovu Project generate a large portion of the revenue for the Indlovu Project. Our team researched numerous ways of improving the living experience and volunteer program. We developed a number of resources for the Indlovu Project to use including a volunteer briefing document, a draft welcome packet for the guest house and a collection of marketing resources. In order to develop our ideas, our team spoke with past and current volunteers, researched tourism in Cape Town and stayed at the Indlovu Project to gain our own overnight experience.

Recommendations for Income Generation

A large part of our project was determining different options for income generation within Monwabisi Park. We spent time with our sponsor, Dianne Womersley, visiting different tourist locations around Cape Town which helped us generate ideas for bringing tourism to the Indlovu Project as well as develop a list of resources for simple crafts that could be made by community members.

Researched Infrastructure for Micro Businesses

Much of our research before our arrival in Cape Town included microfinancing and complementary currency. While in Cape Town, we attended a small business expo, learned about different community exchanges currently in place, and explored microfinancing options further.

Other Accomplishments