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Sicambeni Rural University is an independently funded project in the village of Sicambeni 15 km inland from Port St Johns on the East Coast of South Africa. The University is the brainchild of Luke Boshier and his volunteer program based in Port St. Johns. == Overview == Sicambeni is in the old Transkei, an area made nominally independent under the old apartheid government and then forgotten and neglected. It still lags behind the rest of the country in development and progress. Poverty and unemployment are at high levels and the need for a sustainable community model that can not only work but be spread and taught from community to community is a crucial stepping stone in rebuilding communities and regaining their connection with their land. There are many immigrants from this area in cities including Durban (Northern sea port) and Port Elizabeth (Southern sea port) that left in search of an infrastructure within which they could exist, even if it means eking out a living on the fringes of the city and sending money back. Boshier quit the restaurant industry to move into the field of rural development when he decided the modern environment was no longer healthy for him.〔(Carte Blanche )〕 He has massive experience in helping develop rural communities and, in particular, helps spread knowledge on building using unburnt bricks.〔[http://www.sdinet.org/reports/rep52.htm Shack / Slum Dwellers International [Sdi]]〕 Boshiers idea of drying the bricks in the sun thereby saving hardwood trees that were being used to fire the kilns in Malawi was instrumental in preventing major deforestation. He is fascinated at how the people have changed along with the development of the gardens and small dam starting to look at their environment differently and finding ideas of their own to solve their own problems. “Changing people and their beliefs and perspectives of themselves and where they fit in to the bigger picture is what this all about. They’re learning and growing to an extent where they can pass it on to others. The key to this project is not simply to give away money as that simply creates a dependence on the giver.” Starting off with the basics of improving waste and water management and setting out areas for planting seeds the project has yielded crops as diverse as cabbage, spinach, radish, chilies, lettuce and various types of squash and herbs. It also boasts a small dam dug by the workers to catch the rainwater runoff from the spring rains that came in September. There is a fledgling brick making operation as well as coffee seeds planted with a growing area laid out for a plantation. The University focuses on helping the local communities stop major migration from the country to the cities in search of work by getting them back to a state of sustaining themselves off the lands as well as making a profit from cash crops in order to bring some cash back into the villages. The University is up and running, growing daily it is still a work in progress and not being a government project, requires funding from investors and partners. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Sicambeni Rural University」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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