#cocreateSA awards funds to 6 South African-Dutch sustainability projects

Six innovative projects focussing on water management, healthcare, agro-processing and food security will each receive a R100,000 cash injection.
Each winner received R100,000 in the #cocreateSA Fund awards. Photo: Julia Janse van Vuuren
Each winner received R100,000 in the #cocreateSA Fund awards. Photo: Julia Janse van Vuuren

Six innovative sustainability projects pairing South African and Dutch designers and professionals have been named recipients of the #cocreateSA Fund 2015 from the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Each receiving R100,000, they will focus on sustainability issues including water management, healthcare, agro-processing and food security.

Cape Craft and Design Institute, Khusel’indalo South Africa, Engineers Without Borders, Isidima Design & Development, Khaya Power and Red Plan are the South African parties that all teamed up with a Dutch partner, submitted their project proposals during the open call and got selected by the jury.

With the help of the fund, these partnerships can now bring their project to life.

The #cocreateSA Fund was initiated by the Kingdom of the Netherlands during World Design Capital Cape Town 2014. For this second round of funding, 25 project proposals from South African-Dutch partnerships were submitted during an open call between April and June 2015.

The jury – consisting of Laurine Platzky (Deputy Director-General of the Western Cape Government), Howard Gabriels (COO of Wesgro) and Nyami Mandindi (former CEO of Royal HaskoningDHV) – selected six projects from the submissions, awarding each project with R100,000 starting capital.

“Last year, during the inaugural #cocreateSA Fund, the submissions were very good and promising,” said Bonnie Horbach, Consul General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Cape Town. “I’m very proud that we have been able to again attract ambitious projects during our second round of funding.”

The #cocreateSA Fund epitomised Horbach’s view on modern foreign diplomacy.

For me, it’s all about building relationships, putting the demand at the core of our discussions and focussing on long-term commitments and partnerships.

The #cocreateSA platform was established so that South African and Dutch counterparts could exchange ideas and innovations for a sustainable future. It showcases, stimulates and facilitates collaboration between the two countries based on a co-creation model with the ultimate goal being to help solve local problems in a sustainable way.

The six recipients of the #cocreateSA Fund 2015 are:

Agri-Design, a partnership between the Cape Craft and Design Institute (SA) and a consortium of Dutch partners (NL)

Agri-Design aims to bring value to the agri-processing sector through a design-driven approach to product development and beneficiation. The project will bring together local and Dutch companies involved in agri-processing, and foster collaboration by leading a design process with the two companies to explore what new products can be created with their combined expertise.

Developing a curriculum in sustainable rangeland management, a partnership between Khusel’indalo (SA) and Wageningen UR, Centre for Development Innovation (NL)

This training programme aims to build the skills and performance of rural farming communities so that sustainable farming can become a recognised tool for food provision, ecosystem maintenance, predator management and the repair of degraded rangelands.

Alternative cooking technologies for sheep head traders, a partnership between Engineers Without Borders (SA) and The Royal Netherlands Society of Engineers (NL)

Daily exposure to toxic smoke from traditional cooking practices can cause lung diseases and eye injuries. Sheep head traders in Cape Town’s Nyanga township have requested help in finding a technical solution to their space, health and pollution problems, resulting in a fuel-efficient cooker.

Backyard Bioponics, a partnership between Isidima Design & Development (SA) and OKRA Landscape Architects (NL)

The project aims to create an integrated, multi-functional and optimised system of grey-water management and urban agriculture for the BT Section in Cape Town’s Khayelitsha township, where public furniture elements and playground devices handle and clean grey and storm water, which can then be re-used for irrigation.

FAAB Cook Stove Partners, a partnership between Khaya Power (SA) and Delft University of Technology, Dept. of Industrial Design (NL)

The FAAB Cook Stove allows you to cook in a safe manner on biomass such as briquettes, wood pallets and cow dung. The stove’s solar-powered battery can charge a phone, a light or other small electrical appliances.

Rainfall For Drought Partners, a partnership between Red Plan (SA) and DssFactory (NL)

This collaboration will introduce innovative methods of rain water harvesting for domestic use and crop production in the rural Mtubatuba area, using a simple communication tool availed to the community to provide information on available alternatives of water storage techniques based on simple rainfall harvesting.