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EcoBuilders Co-operative
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A few years ago, there were no women building
in Ivory Park. Such activities were always
considered the work of men and the same
men excluded women from their builders’
federations and organisations. A group of women
from Ivory Park and its sister suburb, Ebony Park,
have teamed up to challenge this concept. They
have formed a co-operative called Ubuhle Bemvelo
EcoConstruction Co-op, and they are in great
demand.
Finding money for training, especially in
something like EcoBuilding, is never easy, but
through its contacts EcoCity identified the British
Department for International Development as a
suitable partner. Funds for training were provided
and the 14 women learned how to do a variety of
eco-building technologies. These include building
with earth bricks, rammed earth building and the
additional eco-technologies that EcoCity is
promoting through its concepts and EcoVillage.
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“I like the eco-homes,” says Clara Masonganye,
the Chairperson of Ubuhle Bemvelo, “because they
are warm in winter and cool in summer.” The
ecobuilders have now graduated beyond simple
building technologies and have assisted in building
the zero-energy community centre. The centre is a
heavily designed building, able to take a couple of
tons of weight on its roof as it is insulated with soil.
This was no problem to the women who discovered
that some walls need to be built with steel frames
and that accuracy in the laying of bricks is
paramount.
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With the future of EcoVillage development being
bright in a changing world, these women are set to
be very busy. The City of Johannesburg wants to roll
out the EcoVillage programme through the
development of its sustainable housing support
centres, the first of which will be located in Ivory
Park. Naturally the women will play a key role, as
they should. “For us this is not just about building
houses, we are building communities,” says Clara.
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