EcoLink, LEAP, and Earthcare Programmes – South Africa

In rural areas of South Africa, a large part of the population has no access to piped water. The daily burden of accessing remote water sources, and carrying water over long distances, rests most heavily on rural women. EcoLink and LEAP, sponsored jointly by Nestlé and several community-based organisations in South Africa, are projects that have made progress in finding simple but effective solutions to this problem.

EcoLink, a non-governmental organisation based in the Mpumalanga Lowveld which Nestlé helped establish in 1985, and project LEAP are seeking ways to harvest limited water resources and improve water and waste management to help overcome the problems of water-borne diseases. A number of relatively simple and low cost solutions have been identified which involve the community, teach certain basic skills, create

Accompanying this project is the Earthcare programme, which teaches villagers how to grow vegetables using the trench garden method. Over 150’000 villagers have been taught this method of growing their own food and together with a reliable supply of safe water, and have benefited enormously from the work of EcoLink through the creation of new income opportunities.

Through their new skills and knowledge, women have been empowered to take a key role in improving the quality of their life in rural areas. Their collective expertise has made them valuable members of the community while relieving them of the daily burden of the search for water. LEAP has also linked up with government projects such as the Working for Water programme, and the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, to develop existing tourist attractions within these rural communities to increase the number of tourists to the area.