The Safina Foundation: A Startup for a Better South Africa
By Drew Haller
On the 18th of July 2021, the world celebrates Nelson Mandela’s birthday. Nobel peace-prize winner, South African president and democratic leader, Mandela pioneered the anti-apartheid movement, challenged the HIV/AIDS crisis and championed reconciliation. Throughout July, his legacy inspires all South Africans to fight for socio-economic change. The Nelson Mandela Day Goals of 2019–2029 include education and literacy, food and nutrition, shelter, sanitation and active citizenship.
Inspired by Nelson Mandela — as well as Patrice Lumumba, Diébédo Francis Kéré and most importantly his mother — Alunga Tesla, a creator, DJ and qualified architectural draftsman, implemented some long-term goals geared towards the benefit of the African community. Together with his Godfather, Sullivan O’Carrol, and other mentors like Elisabeth Schaafma, Alunga has co-founded The Safina Foundation, a non-profit start-up enterprise committed to imparting human dignity to South Africans through shelter, sanitation and environmental education.
“The Safina Foundation is expanding eco-consciousness in South Africa by offering housing to underprivileged areas. Through reusable materials and structures, including shipping containers for affordable housing as well as the use of compostable urinals/toilets, we can aid in restructuring the landscape within and around these areas.”
This is the pledge of Alunga Tesla and Sullivan O’Carrol, who have combined their capital, knowledge and passion to fund a humanitarian mission that aims to restore inequality through architecture, energy efficiency and sustainable principles.
“With a history of diverse ancestral background, I took into account how my resilient bloodline (a mixture of Sotho, Xhosa, Madagascan and Tanzania) needed to go through so much for me to get where I am today. So I took it upon myself to use the time I’ve been given on this continent to do right, and continue the progression of an Africa that’s rising once again.” — Alunga Tesla
The urgency of community-led development projects is most apparent when we look towards Cape Town’s very own Khayelitsha, which is officially counted as one of the five largest slums in the world. Approximately 400 000 people reside in this marginalised community on the peripheries of the affluent Western Cape society. In this area, one toilet is shared by five families on average. Without critical infrastructure, people are forced to make use of the natural landscape, relying on open spaces and fields to serve them.
However, inefficient sewer systems create rife conditions for the spread of disease, while insufficient environmental education encourages waste accumulation, and informal spaces generally suffer from criminality and violence. Without basic shelter and security, humans cannot thrive. Survival is an act of courage, especially when political leaders fail to provide the amenities necessary for one’s basic needs. Alunga Tesla said that this realisation led him to enter a field where he could prototype models of reparation.
“My passion stems from a frustration with the lack of progression in underprivileged areas. I seek to awaken these places that have an abundance of hidden talent, innovation and art . It is so important that we as Africans realise that we cannot wait for others to help us, but rather we must help ourselves achieve the greatness that lies within us. It’s up to us, as future leaders, to teach the young what we have learnt through ubuntu and innovation.” — Alunga Tesla
Sustainable housing enterprises hold the potential to decrease poverty, provide employment security and close wealth gaps. A house is a beacon of hope, and The Safina Foundation sees those four walls as a source of endless growth. It is a school, a home, a recreation center, a tutor center or even an oasis for the elderly. These low-cost houses would be accompanied by vertical gardening structures as well as compostable urinals. These measures aim to minimize waste production, circulate resources and enable self-sufficiency.
The zero-waste model for waste management was first tested at That Potjie Party. Alunga Tesla and Stephanie Fichardt collaborated to produce sanitation schemes for the event. They (and a team of volunteer helpers) built the infrastructure by cutting pallets and scrap wood into simple structures, which were then fitted with toilet seats. Below these seats were buckets filled with a bacteria-rich sawdust that breaks down the ammonia in urine, thereby making the waste compostable. This compost was used for non-edible vegetation, which ultimately supplements soil nourishment. That Eclectic then donated these structures to The Safina Foundation, who committed to placing these constructions amongst underserved communities. A portion of the profits of the event was also donated to the foundation.
With climate change and durability in mind, the Safina Foundation has also decided to make use of eco-friendly materials in housing, such as bamboo and hemp — two low cost crops that grow quickly and abundantly in South Africa. They’ve committed to growing these crops in the Eastern Cape, a predominantly non-urban province. This agricultural endeavour will stimulate the Eastern Cape economy, which struggles with the highest unemployment rate in South Africa (sitting at 43.8%). The Safina Foundation hopes to create invaluable work opportunities for the people of the Eastern Cape, amongst other ambitious goals.
“We would like to have the first phase of material production complete by 2023 and the structural materials completed by 2025. But for now, we are focused on creating earthships (solar shelters made from upcycled materials) in Eastern Cape as a form of residential housing. We are also focused on creating schools so that education programmes can be in place by early February 2022 at the latest. These schools will focus on furthering the youth’s knowledge and interest in sustainability and eco-consciousness. We hope that these youth will eventually join the expanding Safina team in the future. With regards to providing net zero sustainable housing, we would like to have enrolled more than 150 units in the Western Cape by the end of 2022.”
This development project is no small feat. The Safina Foundation has achieved some reach in the global network, sourcing crowd funding from the Netherlands. But to grow their team, and reach their goals faster, they need help from the local community. They’ve called on all Africans to help out, encouraging volunteers and sponsors to reach out to them on growSafina@outlook.com . They welcome volunteers, labourers, material or cash donations. They also implore any interested volunteers to contact 0643106275 on Whatsapp for more information. If you’re interested in contributing to the Nelson Mandela Day Goals, I sincerely encourage you to get involved.
