The Isiqalo Project initially piloted the initiative in the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden, where we worked with 12 young people who were previously unemployed, but who were hired by SANBI to undertake horticultural and conservation at Kirstenbosch. However, the project soon grew to reach 26 young people working in the Kirstenbosch, Harold Porter and the Karoo Desert National Botanical Gardens, who participated in the Isiqalo Project. These 26 participants form part of a career development programme in which 40 youths were hired by SANBI, funded by BotSoc, across gardens countrywide.

In addition to their work in the garden, the Isiqalo Project participants have also been taken on a journey of growth and development.

That’s why the Isiqalo Project works to:

• Provide training and capacity development to this team;
• Help them to access opportunities for employment, entrepreneurship and education in nature-related sectors once the contract has ended;
• And draws on the expertise of BotSoc members as speakers and trainers, building on SANBI’s biodiversity human capital development strategy.

Life Skills

We’ve partnered with non-profit organisation, Sustainability Matters, who have developed a 6-month programme that builds the desire, knowledge and tools to make better, more informed and sustainable life and career choices and to support personal and community resilience building. This includes weekly life-skills sessions and exciting outings and events. Their lessons look to cultivate mindfulness and reflection, to help respondents deal with clarity to challenging situations. They also learn about climate change as a human development issue. And these young learners participate in the Sustainability Marketplace, a forum where they hear from business that showcase the way to a green economy. At the end of the 6-months, participants graduate at a celebratory event.

Enrichment

BotSoc staff and members and SANBI staff host monthly talks on matters related to botany, ecology, horticulture, landscaping, restoration, fynbos, threatened species, alien invasions, fire management and much more to the youth workers, and at times to other garden staff as well. We are also developing a bank of information and contacts about opportunities for work, study and internships, and we bring in speakers on these topics as well.

Mentorship

BotSoc is investigating the opportunity to pair participants with BotSoc members who will serve as mentors, to support them in their learning journey and next steps in terms of bursaries and applications for study, internships and work opportunities, or finding support for starting small businesses.