The City of Cape Town’s Water and Sanitation Directorate (EMD) launched its Carbon Smart Skills Development programme to provide training and experience to unemployed women in the City.
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A total of 30 participants from various areas across Cape Town, including Garden Village, Maitland, Langa; Philippi, Lentegeur and Dunoon, started the programme in September last year.
Once they finish the programme, the City will employ them for three years. In addition, they will receive training at the Carbon Smart Training Academy in Maitland.
The Carbon Smart Skills Development programme covers green building principles, SMME development and soft skills required in the workplace.

The group has already been trained in health and safety and completed the City’s Biomass Insulated Concrete training. The latter equips them with the knowledge and skills to produce the Biomass Insulated Concrete (BIC) product using recycled fabric, plastics, glass, ceramics and alien invasive species to create an eco-friendly building material.
This product will be used in construction projects at City facilities.
The BIC construction method offers remarkable efficiency and speed when used in construction methods. It also significantly accelerates the building process compared to traditional methods. Walls can be shuttered, poured and stripped within 24 hours.
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This skills development programme enables women to enter the construction sector with a special focus on green building principles to reduce carbon footprints during construction.
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Carbon Smart Skills Development programme🌳#CarbonSmartSkills #CapeTown #CityOfCapeTown #CityOfHope pic.twitter.com/EcRrgtwptl
— Eddie Andrews (@AndrewsEddie) April 20, 2024
‘I envision the Carbon Smart Skills Development Programme to be one of our most successful training initiatives, simply because it simultaneously fulfils two important objectives – these are firstly, to empower residents with the expertise to launch their (…) small businesses or to increase their employability, and secondly, to promote the construction of green infrastructure throughout the City,’ says Mayco member for spatial planning and environment, Eddie Andrews.
‘The collaboration between our Environmental Management and Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) departments have been instrumental in bringing this programme to fruition, one that could potentially drive positive change within the communities where the women reside.’
The material has already been used for two gatehouses and other pilot construction projects, including ablution facilities at the City’s nature reserves.
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Picture: City of Cape Town / Facebook