Clean water for Capetown

Environmental Monitoring Group

Cape Town, South Africa
  Website

The Environmental Monitoring Group (EMG) is an independent non-governmental organization, established in 1991. Initially, their focus was to ensure the laws being developed for South Africa had an environmental justice focus, which quickly evolved to promoting sustainable development and environmental justice on a broader level.

Described as the world’s ‘most unequal country’, South Africa’s population is deeply divided. With an extremely unbalanced distribution of wealth, access to clean and safe water is not a norm for a large part of the population. EMG is committed to addressing this equality gap by working directly with communities affected by it.

Photo above: © EMG

30COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS

FOUNDED IN

1991

10HOURS OF ENVIRONMENTAL TV EDUCATION

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AS CORE PILLAR OF SUSTAINABILITY

EMG firmly believes that sustainable development is inextricably linked to economic and social justice. The grant from 11th Hour Racing Team will be used to foster the NGO’s vision of a free, equal, and ecological society where unity between people and nature ensures justice and equity for all living things.

More precisely, the grant project will support the following measures and activities:

  • The cleaning and reclaiming of the Kuils river as a secure source of water removing waste, and exploring ways to remove chemicals
  • The creation of communal gardens as an extra source of nutrition and income 
  • Extensive training in ecological farming, waste management, and environmental protection to enable the communities to sustain their long-term future
  • The promotion of indigenous knowledge of natural medicine and healing techniques to set the foundation for a healthy and mostly self-sufficient population

Creating access to clean water is one of the key pillars of this new grant project. Focussing on the riverside area of Makhaza in Western Cape Town, the initiative also provides ecological education enabling residents to grow food in communal gardens, use different tools and techniques to clean the Kuils River and reinvigorate indigenous knowledge by growing and making use of medicinal herbs and plants.