Small Scale Community Projects
What we do
This department's work is in the process of changing, following recommendations from the Foundation's Board of Trustees. The Board has decided to review the way projects are supported and funded; therefore the focus will be on larger, sustainable projects as of 2008/9. However, the Foundation is still providing support to six poverty alleviation projects in order to get them to a sustainable level where the community can take ownership.
We always try to ensure that the community members on the projects have received the right training on basic financial management or other essential business skills, and that they have been linked to the provincial government departments where necessary. After that, the success of the project is up to the community.
That is not to say that the community must supply all the skills required for the project: for example, projects that need to transport their products can pay a local truck driver rather than buy a truck and train a driver. In this way, the project reaches out and offers employment opportunities outside the project itself.
Current projects
The following projects are currently running:
Majeje Multi Purpose Community Centre (Majeje Village)
This project is managed by
local youth in the Majeje community. Electronic equipment was purchased for the project
and the
centre was handed over to the Majeje community after the telephone and electricity
supply was installed in 2005. In 2006 the project was granted an additional three computers with printers, a fax machine, a photocopier and risograph copier to enable them to offer typing, faxing, card designing and photocopying services to the community. The youth also assist the local communities with completion of application forms for government social and welfare grants. With the involvement of the Ba-Phalaborwa Municipality, the project has managed to assist the community members to access government services by housing representatives of the Department of Home Affairs, Department of Social Security, South Africa Police Services, Department of Public Works and the Department of Labour within the MPCC. The project members received training on marketing principles from staff of the Foundation’s Enterprise Information Centre (EIC).
Mano Cooperative Sewing Project (Makhuva Village)
Mano Sewing Project is conducted at the Makhuva multi-purpose community centre.
The project is run by a group of ten women. The Palabora Foundation assisted
the project with equipment such as five sewing machines, one over-locker,
an embroidery machine and an ironing station. Basic financial management
training was also provided.
This project’s focus is sewing traditional Tsonga clothes and school uniforms. This year the project managed to obtain a tender from the local hospital to sew baby blankets. The project also received financial support from the National Development Agency. In 2006, the Foundation purchased the project an additional industrial sewing machine and one small sewing machine.
Maseke Community Gardens Project (Maseke Village)
This project is run by sixteen rural women in the Maseke village and is now
managed by the Department of Agriculture. A borehole was sunk close to the
Selati River and a pump station was built to supply water to the irrigation
tanks. Three irrigation tanks have been installed, irrigation piping has been
laid, and the first crop was harvested in 2005.
The Foundation bought materials to build a cement dam to address the water problems experienced by the project in 2006. With the remaining materials, the Department of Agriculture assisted the project by making labour available to build a second dam. Sasol Nitro also made gypsum available to curb the problem of pests that were feeding on the project’s crops. The farm was cleared in preparation for the planting season in the latter part of the year. Seedlings were bought for the project to enable them to move towards large scale farming on 14 of the 40 hectares available. A zozo hut was purchased to serve as storage facility, as well as shade netting for seedlings. The Department of Agriculture also supported the project by providing technical advice.
Mponeng Poultry Project (Selwane Village)
The Mponeng Poultry Project is a small scale
community project run by 14 women from Selwane Village. The chickens
were originally kept in a mud hut; the Palabora Foundation bought a proper
poultry shed for the project. The women received training from the Department
of Agriculture. The challenge that faced the project was the avian flu epidemic
which made it difficult to buy chicks and rear them in the latter part of
2005.
After setting up the poultry shed on the new site, the focus in 2006 was to support the project with resources required for breeding newborn chicks. A fence was erected, and an additional zozo hut to store the feed was purchased. LC Chicks in Tzaneen supplied the project with over 2 000 newborn chicks, and feed was purchased from the NTK Farmers’ Cooperative. Personal protective clothing was purchased for the project members to avoid spreading diseases amongst the chicks. The first batch of chicks was purchased by a local community member who sold them on the projects’ behalf. The intention of the project is to sell the chicks in bulk to people who want to sell them individually, thereby creating jobs for others. Despite the project having lost over 50 chicks with the heat-waves in Phalaborwa in October and November, the project members were determined to forge ahead.
Nkurwana Poultry Project (Mashishimale Village)
The Nkurwana Poultry Project is run by
three elderly men and seven women from Mashishimale Village. The project
was also challenged by the avian flu epidemic in late 2005. In 2006, the project’s existing poultry house was painted, and clad sheeting put up on the outside to protect the chicks from the varying hot weather conditions that Phalaborwa experienced towards the end of the year. Over 2 400 chicks were successfully reared by the project. The first batch of chicks was sold directly to the community members. The project’s electrification system has been attended to. A zozo hut serving as storage for feed has also been purchased for the project.
Sealene Cooperative Sewing Project (Makhushane Village)
An empty building at the Makhushane Traditional Authority offices was renovated
and the community cooperative sewing group was provided with tables and chairs,
sewing machines and sewing materials. This group of rural ladies have formed
themselves into a cooperative, received small business training from the Foundation
and produce school uniforms, clothing and linen for local schools.
The Foundation assisted this project in 2006 by purchasing an additional sewing machine and an industrial overlocking machine. The projects received a small contract with the local crèche to sew graduation gowns for the children who complete their pre-school phase. The project also sews uniforms for burial societies, stokvels and local schools. Community members have their traditional clothing sewn at the project.
This project was started by a group of 12 ladies and two men. The Foundation Board initially approved R125 000 in 2003 to start the project. In 2004 the Foundation built a storeroom, small office, foundation slab, 2 toilets, erected a 10 000 litre tank, fenced the project, bought 4 brick making machines, 10 wheelbarrows, 10 shovels, 100 bags of cement and 10 loads of sand. The Foundation ended up spending R300 000 in two years to fund all the required equipments for the project to be fully operational. The project is currently doing very well by selling bricks to the local market. They also managed to secure a two year contract in 2005 with the Kruger National Park to supply a 450 thousand bricks over a six month period. The project has further identified a need for tyre repairs in the Lulekani Township and through their profits they managed to build a workshop and an additional office and bought 3 tyre repair machinery to fix tyres.
Run with assistance from the European Union