In 1987
residents of Hout Bay, an enclave 20km from the city of Cape
Town declared themselves to be “The Republic of Hout Bay”.
This was done in a spirit of great jest, and also in great
seriousness. Hout Bay, with only 3 roads connecting it to the
outside world “over the mountain” is isolated enough that it
holds a strong sense of place. Its naturally sheltered bay leads
out into the Atlantic Ocean. The people of Hout Bay are
passionate about their valley, with its scenic beauty,
biodiversity and history as a fishing, farming and forestry
community.
In
South Africa, Hout Bay is unusual is that white, black and
coloured people live in close proximity in the narrow valley,
rather than the apartheid era model of townships build at a
distance from the suburbs. Residents have thus come to
accommodate themselves to each other’s existence, needs and
aspirations. Attempts to address issues such the shortage of
housing and land have led to intense discussions between diverse
sectors (The Institute of Justice and Reconciliation facilitated
such a process in 2007).
Since Hout Bay is a small community
residents active in civic affairs have come to know each other
on a personal level across the political, racial and
socio-economic spectrum. It is difficult for residents of
affluent areas to ignore the existence of socio-economic
inequality and environmental injustice as it is so close and
evident.
Thus
Envirochild is taking the unique opportunity that we have in
Hout Bay to work together in our valley to create a sustainable
future for the community. Issues such as housing, development,
education and sustainable livelihoods are in the forefront of
resident’s concerns.
These problems are multi-faceted and
interconnected, and attempts to solve them will fail unless they
are approached in an integrated and holistic way.
Hout Bay can
provide a good model for solutions that can be applied elsewhere
as Hout Bay is discrete (almost island-like), contained, and
small enough that the effects of processes are clearly evident.
Thus it is an ideal socio-economic and environmental laboratory.
Ward Forum
The Consulate,
Republic of Hout Bay
Marketing our
Business (Hout Bay MOB)
CID (City
Improvement District) Coalition
3 R’s (Reduce,
re-use, recycle)
Resident’s
Association
SANCO South
African National Civic Organisation
Neighbourhood Watch
Hout Bay
Emergency Medical Service
Rotary
Lions
DARG
Hout Bay
Museum
The Heritage
Trust
Friends of the
Library
Skatepark
Churches and
Mosque, The Buddhist and
Yoga
Centre
In
South Africa
We believe that the principles of sustainability and
community participation will enable us to solve many of our
communities' problems in a constructive and non party-political
way.
At the same time, this approach will enable us to mitigate the
impact of impending climate change and oil depletion on our
quality of life.
The disputed council-owned land adjacent to Imizamo Yethu
presents an ideal opportunity to put these principles into
practice in order to find long-term solutions the whole of Hout
Bay can support.
envirochild is working
hard to build consensus for the establishment of an ecovillage
on the so-called "forestry" site.
envirochild has already
attracted a number of specialists with expertise in eco-design,
low-impact architecture and sustainable living who will be
invaluable in planning and executing this projects.
We are continuing to meet with various leaders and other
stakeholders to build support for this concept and will soon be
holding a mass meeting to present the idea to the broader
community.
Please watch this site and press for details. In the meantime,
we welcome any comments, suggestions or volunteers. For more
information on
envirochild
and the importance of sustainable development, see other pages
on this site or visit the suggested
links
