The Edulink Project – Food for Learning: linking youth education, food security and life skills with nature, led by our partner Cape Winelands Biosphere Reserve (CWBR), is established at the Center for Sustainable Development in the Winelands Biosphere Reserve from the Western Cape in Franschhoek, South Africa.
Cape Winelands Biosphere Reserve is a 330,000 hectare area which constitutes a unique landscape bringing together several ecosystems and many different communities. It is a place for learning about sustainable development which was classified in 2007 by UNESCO. The interdisciplinary project, which represents hope for the disadvantaged population of the townships, requires both conservation and innovation solutions.
This objective must in particular integrate the promotion of education, the guarantee of food security as well as the protection of natural resources and biodiversity.
Four main areas of intervention have been identified for the CWBR: promoting education, preserving river systems, raising awareness of biodiversity and developing partnerships.
2015-2018
This project involves the planting of food support trees in slums, schools and rural areas. The goal is to increase food security. A nursery has been set up to produce cuttings of native and fruit trees.
In 2018, the CWBR built the “eFATA Early Childhood Development Center” school to accommodate 80 babies and children aged under 6 living in the townships of Franschhoek. The building included a kitchen, toilets, a playground and a garden
This project, limited to two years, expires in June 2018 and has a total budget of €178,681.09.
Contact: Pierre Hornick, Michèle Wolter
2018-2021
The project “EDULINK: Food for Learning” is entering its second phase with this new project. Just like the first project, it focuses on a sustainable, developing education, in protecting biodiversity, in respecting water-found resources and in the conservation of both energy and the environment.
We have added a new element to our activities: the creation of protected workshops for young individuals with learning difficulties, accomplished with the close collaboration of our partner, Cape Winelands Biosphere Reserve with the association, Care Career Connections.
The current project, limited to three years, will finish in June of 2021 and has a total budget of 365.034,04€.
Contacts: Pierre Hornick, Michèle Wolter
2021-2024
The “STEAM-Y Science Bus” education program organizes classes in science, art and technology (STEAM), awareness of biodiversity conservation and development of vegetable gardens. In the context of the pandemic, this program is all the more important as many children and young people have not been able to follow online courses due to lack of technical equipment and WiFi network.
The CWBR offers training courses in First Aid, Fire Management and Health and Safety for students and young people who have dropped out of school or are unemployed, with a view to finding jobs or returning to studies.
Through the “Care Career Connections” project, we wish to strengthen the capacities of young adults with intellectual disabilities through their integration into the work environment.
Total budget: 349,333€
Order the book
The NGO Athénée – Action Humanitaire is proud to
present you the book “EDULINK – South Africa”, a close collaboration between the students of the optional course OEDNA 2021-2022 and photographer Dave
Robertson. The work is enriched with texts written by members of the school community in order to document the cooperative work between the Athénée,
the NGO Athénée – Humanitarian Action and the many
partners in South Africa, from Bonnievale to Franschhoek.