Masupatsela

GREENHOUSE PROJECT
DIRECTED by JACQUELINE VAN MEYGAARDEN
EDITED by JEMIMA SPRING
TX 12 October 2009

The aim of the Greenhouse Project is to green Johannesburg – and it is doing this via initiatives in five areas: food, energy, water, buildings and waste. Based in the historic conservatory site of Joubert Park, Greenhouse was started in 1993 by members of Earthlife Africa Johannesburg, who wanted to do something more practical when it came to environmental activism.

Now under the executive direction of Dorah Lebelo, who was involved with the project from the start, members of Greenhouse realised early on that to achieve their aims, they had to be relevant to people living around the park, who are more concerned with issues of survival than saving the environment. The initiatives that they drive therefore all either have an income-saving or income-generating aspect. The recycling and urban organic agriculture initiatives, for example, are run by co-operatives that are supported by Greenhouse. The urban organic agriculture co-operative has 22 members: two from Greenhouse and two each from ten other community based projects around Johannesburg.

According to Outreach Officer France Maleme, when it comes to climate change, at the grassroots level, not much has been done – and this is where Greenhouse comes in. Instead of showing graphs and other scientific information that is difficult to understand, they show people visuals and films that get the message across. Their roadshow has been very successful. For Dorah it’s very important to address the fallacy that black people – especially the poor – don’t care about the environment. Environmental issues are also survival issues and there is a particular interest in renewable energy.

Greenhouse also walks the walk when it comes to the site that they occupy in Joubert Park. The offices they occupy were renovated using entirely green building methods and a lot of recycled materials via a learn-and-build programme which invited community members to participate. The project runs without electricity from the grid and utilises technologies like a water-free compost toilet and different forms of waste water recycling. The renovation of the conservatory itself had been stalled until recently because of issues with National Lottery Funding, but should get underway again soon. Nevertheless, the raised beds and every available bit of land is planted with vegetables and herbs. A conference centre and office space is also almost complete and will bring in much needed income for the project.

This kind of out-of-the-box thinking has played an important role in Greenhouse’s survival as an organisation. After unsuccessfully trying to get their own electricity meter and bills that were being sent to City Parks, the Project was left with a massive bill that they couldn’t pay and were cut off. At the same time, they were hit with a burglary and lost everything. When it looked as though they may have to shut down, the senior members of the team decided to take salary cuts and look for other part-time work, so that key people like the project administrator Maria Modiba and organic gardening project co-ordinator Doreen Khumalo could continue working. Nothing is wasted, everything is used and re-used and creativity is the order of the day at this truly inspiring organisation.

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT OR CONTRIBUTE TO THE GREENHOUSE PROJECT:
call +27 11 720 3773 or fax +27 11 720 3532.

TO START YOUR OWN GREEN CENTRE WHERE YOU LIVE, FOLLOW THESE STEPS:
- find like minded people, who would like to live in a cleaner, healthier world where they can provide for themselves
- speak to people where you live to find out what they have been doing and how you can work together
- do the research to learn what kind of plants you can grow where you live
- also learn what other kind of projects you could start
- find a space with land that you can use to grow your plants and run your projects
- keep generating ideas within your team
- work out ways to keep your project running, so that the members benefit
- apply for funding to keep your project running and to ensure long term success.

SCREEN GRABS FROM THE GREENHOUSE PROJECT STORY: