This project was short listed to the international World Bank Development Marketplace competition finals in Washington in May 2005. This was a global competition of innovative sustainable development projects and reached the finals from almost 3000 entries globally.
The project is an attempt at dealing with a host of sustainable development issues through solving several major environmental and development issues, namely:
• Alien Invasive Vegetation Clearing
• Adding Value to Waste Streams
• Employment Creation
• Entrepreneurship
• Local Economic Development
• Energy Saving
• Housing Solutions
The project that will look at producing wood composite material (chipboard and/or hardboard material) from alien woody plants cleared from areas of biodiversity importance, where invasive alien plant species are threatening indigenous habitats. To implement this project we need private sector and civil society partners to help with the piloting of the idea.
The intention is that alien woody plants are cleared and that value is added to this waste through producing chipboard/hardboard. The wood composite material could either be used for housing material or sold informally or commercially. Through this activity jobs could be created and entrepreneurs will be encouraged to develop sustainable businesses. The product will be a tile that will be used in informal housing and low cost housing as DIY insulation ceiling boards. This significantly adds to energy and cost saving for this housing sector.
This project will contribute greatly to providing an economic incentive to remove alien vegetation from the landscape.
The product has been through laboratory development and the project is now to be moved to the research and development stage in situ, where pilot projects and production plants need be set up.
Significant partnerships for this project has been established with the:
• University of Stellenbosch,
• Ballabarn PTY – a venture capital company
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