Unveiling of Mogale Showcase Project

Mogale City Local Municipality, Magaliesburg Development Initiative, Mphe-Thuto Primary School and ICLEI-Africa are thrilled to announce the unveiling of the first low emission development community showcase project in Magaliesburg. Situated 25km north of Krugersdorp, Magaliesburg has a rich history linked to the local Sterkfontein Caves and primitive mankind. Now looking into the future a local school is adopting the latest technology in energy efficiency and promoting food gardens to encourage resilience within the local community.

As part of the Urban-LEDS project being implemented in Mogale, the Mphe-Thuto Primary School was identified as a community showcase project. Working in partnership with various local role players, ICLEI Africa implemented a range of interventions, such as replacing all the lights at the school with more energy efficient options, as well as installation of a solar water heater. A skylight was also installed in a classroom to provide natural light and is currently being tested. If this is successful then additional skylights will be installed. The school also received a catering size Wonderbag for use by the local feeding scheme, as well as a countertop compost bucket for the kitchen, which can feed into the biogas-digester.

Other organisations that have supported the school include Earthlife Africa Johannesburg who have installed an 18kWp solar panel system, while the Urban LEDS programme provided a 5kW inverter and battery system to allow the offices to be able to work during a power outage. Earthlife Africa also installed a biogas-digester to provide methane gas for cooking, and rainwater harvesters with a dripline irrigation system to feed into the community food gardens.

Nedbank Sustainability Division has been assisting Magaliesburg Development Initiative and provided funding for the establishment of food gardens at the school. The Urban LEDS programme assisted here with providing a solar powered borehole pump to ensure that the food gardens and future orchards have sufficient access to water.

This showcase project supports the Mogale Climate Change Framework and Operational Strategy in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve the resilience within the local community. It is a joint initiative showing that we should not just look at mitigation or adaptation, but also look at collaboration and working together to find suitable solutions.