glorious gardens

We were blown away by the Thuthuka School garden in Tembisa Township near Johannesburg as seen last week on Around the World in 80 Gardens. After viewing some stunning botanical gardens in Cape Town and a beautiful and opulent garden and home in Parktown, Johannesburg - the Thuthuka School garden brought tears to my eyes! The students work in the garden of their school to grow edible herbs and flowers, vegetables and trees. The children are so happy and delighted to have the space and resources to be able to beautify their school and you can feel their enthusiasm and passion when they show you around...

(it's about 3.20 minutes into the clip here... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgUJHL7-qGY)



There's not much information around about how they started the garden or how they have made it so beautiful- as far as I can google they have had support from Food and Trees for Africa - a South African based organisation that embrace best practices in sustainable environmental activities that empower poor communities while also playing an important role in reducing carbon emissions- truly inspiring!

Sand-bag Architects win top prize!

South African architects MMA have been awarded the inaugural Curry Stone Design prize of $100,000 for their ingenious solution to the Design Indaba 10x10 low-cost housing challenge.  established this year by the university of Kentucky College of Design through a very generous gift from architect Clifford Curry and his wife H. Delight Stone.  The prize recognises breakthrough design solutions with the power and potential to improve our lives and the world we live in.  The 10x10 housing project initiated by Design Indaba paired 10 teams of South African architects with international designers to pioneer new affordable housing systems.   The objective of the competition was to come up with affordable, attractive, innovative responses to the urgent need for housing the urban poor.  

MMA were awarded the Curry Stone Design prize for their pioneering design and innovative pilot project to build 10 affordable houses using a sand-bag construction system.  

Thanks to The Architects Newspaper for posting this great story with beautiful images and a great interview with the architects. 

Luyanda Mpahlwa, who shares the firm with Mpethi Morojele, s

aid that a key component of the house was to provide not only shelter but also social justice and pride.  The house was originally designed...as a house for 50,000 rand ($6,200), which required some unusual thinking.  In addition to utilizing inexpensive and locally accessible building materials, which required not even a single electrical outlet to put together, the designers turned to the community to build the houses.  Mpahlwa said that this approach saved not only the cost of labor but gave the community an added sense of ownership and provided work for the community riven with unemployment.   

It is great to hear that Mpahlwa is planning to use his prize money to build more 10x10 houses and sponsor underprivileged kids to attend architecture school.  These architects are fabulous inspiration!! 

on my wish list...

PlayPumps International’s mission is to help improve the lives of children and their families by providing easy access to clean drinking water, enhancing public health, and offering play equipment to millions of people across Africa. The PlayPump water system are innovative, sustainable, patented water pumps powered by children at play. Installed near schools, the PlayPump system doubles as a water pump and a merry-go-round for children. Already in communities across South Africa, Lesotho, Mozambique, Swaziland, and Zambia- they are currently expanding to Kenya and fingers crossed we'll be able to work together to bring clean drinking water and a whole lot of fun for the kids of Katolo!

Have a look at their cool bags on flashbags - I am eyeing off the Spinning Smiles extra large box bag, with 10% of the profits going directly to PlayPumps International. It is on my Christmas list already- what a cool way to start a conversation...

BLISS N ESO “Bullet and a Target” featuring the connections zulu choir.

In July 2007 Aussie Hip Hop group Bliss N Eso travelled to the most dire regions of South Africa with the Oaktree Foundation and MTV to shoot a documentary on Extreme Poverty.
The boys teamed up with the Connections Zulu Choir, a 21 piece Zulu choir from the Valley of a Thousand Hills in South Africa and recorded the track as well as the video.

bricks + cartwheels were blown away when we heard it. Pretty inspiring stuff!!

To view the video clip click here.

100% of the profits from the sale of this song are being donated to the Oaktree foundation to help aid poverty stricken communities in South Africa.

To find out more about the work of the Oaktree foundation and their new schools4schools program, a program that links schools in the developing world with schools in Australia through an innovative and interactive program, click here.

Great stuff!

women's centre, rufisque, senegal exhibition

An exhibition of the award winning building by Finnish architects Hollmen, Reuter and Sandman is currently on display at the Wilkinson building, level 2, the hearth, Sydney University.









This exhibition illustrates how participatory design, based on an understanding of the local and the incorporation of traditional materials can give rise to significant architecture. With the right balance of design and community consciousness, bricks + cartwheels aspires to reach the level achieved by these inspirational women.







Click here to view this project in more detail.



Also on display in the hearth is an innovative photographic exploration throughout some of Johannesburg’s most infamous shack settlements: Alexandra, Diepsloot & Marshalltown. A project which was an initiative of the global studio carried out in July 2007, it allowed locals to document their own lives thereby giving a fresh perspective of people and their rich cultural heritage . Through pictures these are their stories… click here

global studio

One of the stellar bricks + cartwheels founders, Georgia Bowen, has recently returned from The Global Studio in Johannesburg. Georgia speaks of the amazing opportunity the studio provides to explore participatory approaches to design and planning that can improve people's lives and alleviate poverty. Georgia is inspiring the bricks + cartwheels team with her experiences.

Click here to read about Georgia and Global Studio in an article from The University of Sydney.