Umzi Wethu replicated in Stellenbosch

The highly successful Umzi Wethu social investment project has been replicated in Stellenbosch under the leadership of the Sustainability Institute at the Lynedoch Eco Village. The Umzi Wethu concept was initially developed by the Wilderness Foundation, and its accomplishments were officially recognised with a prestigious international Rolex Award in 2008.
Umzi Wethu is a one year, social development and intervention programme for displaced and socially vulnerable youth. The project offers them the opportunity to become skilled and highly employable young adults with secure, well-paying jobs in the eco-tourism industry.
The Umzi Wethu graduate job placement rate is 95%, job retention rate is between 80-85%, in well-paying jobs that support extended families.
Launched in April 2006, the benchmark Umzi Wethu hospitality academy was based on a feasibility study that assessed the job qualification needs of Eastern Cape parks and game reserves. The Umzi Wethu conservation academy was launched in March 2008 in the rural town of Somerset East in the Eastern Cape of South Africa.
“The goal of the Wilderness Foundation has always been to replicate the Umzi Wethu project throughout the country,” says Wilderness Foundation director, Andrew Muir. “We are looking forward to seeing how the model stands up in Stellenbosch, in a different context, under the management of another organisation which shares the ethos of the Wilderness Foundation.”
The Sustainability Institute expressed interest in replicating the Umzi Wethu project in early 2010. Following an intensive feasibility study to ensure the organisation had access to the essential resources needed to replicate the project, they were given the green light for fundraising to begin.
“The institute has already hired an academy coordinator, Tracy Ward, and will soon be hiring a hospitality facilitator,” says Muir. “The Wilderness Foundation’s Umzi Wethu project management unit will be assisting the Sustainability Institute and providing technical support and mentoring for the first year.”
Establishing an Umzi Wethu academy in Stellenbosch offers access into the thriving wine industry in the Western Cape, and tentative job placements have already been secured at Spier Wine Estate and other Stellenbosch-based hospitality organisations.
“The hospitality industry in the Western Cape is vibrant, and we believe that there will be a strong uptake of our students by the time they graduate next year,” says Umzi Wethu academy manager, Paul Longe.
According to Longe, the new academy will be rolled out in a very similar fashion to the current Umzi Wethu academies in Port Elizabeth and Somerset East, but will integrate various unique elements based on the sustainability initiatives at the Lynedoch Eco Village.
“Students will be involved with organic vegetable gardening, recycling and will also be part of the house keeping and catering team at the onsite guest house and coffee shop,” says Longe.
The African Global Skills Academy (AGSA) will provide the necessary theoretical accreditation and nationally accepted accreditations, and an experienced chef will be employed to conduct the theory and practical training for the students.
Selection for the first intake of twelve students is currently underway, and training is set to begin in September 2011.
“The Sustainability Institute is an organisation which shares a similar vision to the Wilderness Foundation, in that we understand how nature and society can work together to build a better future,” says Muir. “SI’s commitment to sustainable living and livelihoods lends itself to the effective implementation of the Umzi Wethu model, and we are very excited to see how it progresses.”