Water is a precious resource, and scarce during the long Cape summers. We have rainwater tanks capturing the run-off from the roof of the crèche and the clinic, and the run-off from the guest house is channelled onto our fruit trees. Grey-water drainage systems ensure that every drop is used to the utmost. The grey water from the Indlovu Lodge feeds fruit trees in our neighbours’ gardens all the way down the street.

All our organic waste is composted (also with earthworms) and fed back into the food gardens.

We crush builders’ rubble that has been illegally dumped in the nearby nature reserve and use it to fill sandbags or holes in the road. The sandbags are used in place of bricks where needed. The recycling work attracts many volunteers and students who come to teach as well as to learn.

We also have a wonderful solar cooker that saves electricity and cooks great meals! Our guest house and our soup kitchen make use of ‘hotbox’ cookers that require no energy and save on gas.

The Indlovu Lodge uses only natural energy for lighting and heating water. The combination of solar, wind and grid generated electricity creates a useful educational model as well.