GA-RANKUWA ECO-FURNITURE FACTORY

An initiative of the Department of Environmental Affairs’ Eco-Furniture

Programme in partnership with the City of Tshwane

Contributing to a Nation at Work

Introduction 1

Background 2

Ga-Rankuwa Eco-Furniture Factory 3

Organogram 8

Clients 9

Success Stories 9

Conclusion 10

Invasive alien species cause billions

of Rands of damage to South Africa’s

economy every year. These plants

pose a direct threat not only to South

Africa’s biological diversity, but also

to water security, the ecological

functioning of natural systems and

the productive use of land. They

intensify the impact of fires and

floods and increase soil erosion.

Of the estimated 9 000 plants

introduced to this country, 379 are

listed in the National Environmental

Management: Biodiversity Act, 2014

(NEM:BA) Alien and Invasive Species

(AIS) Regulations as invasive. These

cover about 10% of the country, with

the problem growing exponentially.

These plants can divert enormous

amounts of water from more

productive uses.

The Department of Environmental

Affairs through the Working for Water

(WfW) programme, and funding

from the Expanded Public Works

Programme (EPWP), has initiated

a sub-programme of Working

for Water that uses invasive alien

plants to make school desks for the

Department of Basic Education.

South Africa’s Working for Water

programme was established in

1995. The programme is the largest

public-funded project to eradicate

invasive alien plants and improve

water resources in the world and has

created over 180 000 full-time jobs

over the past two decades. The Eco-

Furniture Programme was first piloted

in December 2005 in Cedara, in

KwaZulu-Natal, in partnership with

the KZN Invasive Alien Species

Programme, with seed funding from

the World Bank, and has grown into a

national programme with a presence

in the Southern Cape, Gauteng,

Mpumalanga and Limpopo. The

Eco-Furniture Programme is a

job creation initiative which offers

opportunities to unemployed South

Africans who create furniture, walking

sticks, chess board tables and school

desks out of alien invasive plants.

The programme, which is implemented through the South

African National Parks Agency

(SANParks), seeks to make optimal

use of the biomass cleared through

the WfW programme, and create

work opportunities to make products

that help government to meet

its needs and notably the pro-

poor opportunities within this. The

government’s invasive alien plant

clearing programme has achieved

great success over the years.

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Unemployment and poverty are the

two major challenges faced by South

Africa and the City of Tshwane in

particular. About 27.7 per cent of the

City of Tshwane population lives in

Region 1 and it makes up the highest

concentration of residents with the

highest poverty and unemployment

rates. Region 1 is situated in the north

western quadrant of the City and

includes Mabopane, Winterveld,

Soshanguve, Ga-Rankuwa and

Pretoria North. A significant number

of the population have low levels

of education, high unemployment,

very low incomes and poor living

standards. Youth unemployment

as well as unemployment among

women remains high.

In the latter part of 2013, the

Department of Environment Affairs

through its Working for Water

Programme approached the City of

Tshwane for a possible partnership to

establish 6 642m² factory at the Ga-

Rankuwa Industrial Park. The factory

was officially launched in partnership

with North West Development

Corporation on 07 March 2014.

In the City of Tshwane’s quest to

address the scourge of youth

unemployment, they partnered with

the Department of Environmental

Affairs the Eco-Furniture programme

to develop communities and

alleviate unemployment among

women and youth and to link

unemployed citizens to training

opportunities.

The Ga-Rankuwa Eco-Furniture

Programme is one of the many

ways in which the spread of invasive

species can be reduced and jobs

can be created in marginalised

communities amongst poor people.

Over and above skills development,

the City’s overall objective is to

contribute to government’s New

Growth Path and the job creation

agenda. The factory has assisted

the City’s efforts to fight poverty

in the creation of sustainable job

opportunities and skills development

for the poor.

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The Ga-Rankuwa Eco-Furniture

Programme also forms part of

the City of Tshwane’s flagship

programmes. The Eco-Furniture

Programme has developed an

industry around the clearing of

invasive biomass, converting the

trees into usable material and

manufacturing an assortment of

furniture products. The programme

aims to capitalise on the latent

value of the invasive alien plants by

manufacturing products in line with

government needs while maximising

job creation and skills transfer

opportunities.

The Ga-Rankuwa Eco-Furniture

Programme is aimed at achieving

the following objectives:

• contribute to job creation by

creating sustainable jobs;

• contribute to the utilization of

local labour;

• contribute to skills transfer

and capacity building for

disadvantage groups in the

Ga-Rankuwa area, through

accredited training

• clearing of invasive alien

biomass, with a focus on gum

and pine trees; a production

output of a minimum of 4 000

double combination school

desks per month; and

• fight poverty through job creation

and stimulation of economic

growth.

Providing work for the local rural

unemployed is an important aim

of the project, and in this respect,

it obviously serves its purpose

admirably. The project provides

job opportunities which bring

the unemployed into a working

environment, to obtain skills and

work experience. The following

key components of the successful

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•

3.1. Job CreationThe Ga-Rankuwa Eco-Furniture Programme has created more than 227 temporary but continuous jobs for previously unemployed people and beneficiaries from City’s Tshepo 10 000 programme, as indicated in figure 1 and 2. It is expected that over 900 jobs will be created once the project is fully operational, with 350 Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) jobs within the factory operations, and a further 550 downstream jobs in the harvesting and in-field planking, delivery and assembly anticipated.

establishment of the factory have

been identified:

3.1 Job creation

The Ga-Rankuwa Eco-Furniture

Programme has created more than

227 temporary but continuous jobs

for previously unemployed people

and beneficiaries from City’s Tshepo

10 000 programme, as indicated

in figure 1 and 2. It is expected

that over 900 jobs will be created

once the project is fully operational,

with 350 Expanded Public Works

Programme (EPWP) jobs within the

factory operations, and a further 550

downstream jobs in the harvesting

and in-field planking, delivery and

assembly anticipated.

Figure 1: Employment by gender

Jobs will be created once the

project is fully operational, with 350

Expanded Public Works Programme

(EPWP) jobs within the factory

operations, and a further 550

downstream jobs in the harvesting

and in-field planking, delivery and

assembly anticipated. The Ga-

Rankuwa eco-furniture programme

has created more than 226 full-time

jobs for previously unemployed

people and beneficiaries of the

City’s Tshepo 10 000 programme,

as indicated in Figure 1 and 2. Over

900 EPWP jobs are expected to be

created once the project is fully

operational.

Figure 2: Number of contractors and

participants

4

Category Name, 12

Participants, 215

3.2 Skills development

In addition to employment

opportunities, the project provides

extensive training in fields that have a

good absorption rate into public and

private sectors. However, experience

has shown that employees remain

with the factories as there are

career progression opportunities.

The factory is also embarking on the

establishment of a training facility.

The programme provides accredited

and non-accredited training in

different categories that includes the

following courses:

A Health and Safety Training

• First Aid Level 1 - 3

• SHE Rep

• Awareness training: Fire, Snakes

and Bees Awareness

• Workplace Risk Assessment

B. Task Related Training

• Basic and Advanced Chainsaw

Operator

• Wet Mill Machines Operator

• Wood Technology

• Furniture Making

• Driven Machines

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C. Contractors Training

• Contractor Development Phase

1 – 3

• People Management

• Conflict Management

• Financial Management

D. Social Development Training

• Personal Finances

• Peer Educator Course

• Diversity Management

• Healthy Living

3.3 Production

The Ga-Rankuwa Eco-Furniture Factory

consists of a wet mill, dry mill, value

added workshop and a storage

facility. Production ranges from the

initial clearing and timber harvesting,

through to the wet mill where the logs

are planked before being placed in

kilns to dry, and then to the dry mill

where the planks are processed. The

trees are harvested on municipal

and private land and the factory uses

processed planks.

The current production focus to

date has been an order for primary

and secondary school desks for the

Department of Basic Education.

The Department has placed a

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further order for 200 000 desks with

DEA’s Eco-Furniture Programme, of

which a significant proportion will

be produced at the Ga-Rankuwa

Eco- Furniture Programme factory.

The factory utilises the processed

planks to make the four wooden

components – the seat, back, front

and the top. These components

are processed, spray-painted and

wrapped, ready for sending out.

The steel frames are sent separately

by the suppliers, and the desks are

assembled at the schools.

The factory currently produces 200

school desks per day as well as some

additional value added products

(coffins, garden benches, chess

tables, walking sticks) and operates

5 days a week with 2 shifts per day.

The intention is to increase the

desk production, and the factory is

currently gearing up to produce a

target of 400 school desks per day.

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3.4 Product Output

The primary output at present is school desks in support of the drive by the

Department of Basic Education to provide all Learners with quality facilities.

Other types of furniture the programme makes range from sturdy benches

to office furniture, tables and chairs, chess pieces and chess tables, walking

sticks, key holders and photo frames

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• Department of Basic Education

• Government Departments

• Since its launch in 2014, the factory has cleared and harvested more than 1 210 m³ of invasive alien timber, while providing jobs and training to 227 beneficiaries from Ga-Rankuwa and surrounding areas.• Following an intensive period of training and upskilling, over 12 615 desks have been produced by the Ga-Rankuwa factory site. • 200 000 desks have been ordered from the Eco-Furniture Programme as a whole, by the Department of Basic Education.• Three contractors were able to purchase their own vehicles.• Promising individuals are also trained and encouraged to become emerging contractors and then fully-fledged independent contractors who employ other workers in their teams.

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The Eco-Furniture Programme has made a major positive impact on the

lives of impoverished and essentially marginalised people in the country.

This initiative has shown the viability of the approach of utilising invasive

alien create to create jobs, in making value-added products relevant to

government’s needs while contributing to skills development and income

generation.

Ga-Rankuwa Eco-Furniture Factory

Stand 19 and 20, Third Street, Zone 15

Ga-Rankuwa Industrial Park

Tel: 012 700 0679

Website:

www.environment.gov.za

www.sanparks.co.za