Human Settlements Review - Parliamentary Monitoring Group

Human Settlements Review, Volume 1, Number 1, 2010
8.5 Employment
8.6 Conclusion
There is no doubt that unemployment is one
of the major problems in South Africa. The
creation of more job opportunities should
therefore be one of the main priorities, if not
the top priority, in any attempt to stimulate
local economic development.
In many poor communities in South Africa,
e.g. in Kuruman in the Northern Cape, small
entrepreneurs have started to produce earth
blocks in accordance with traditional skills,
but with material that has been upgraded
(by adding cement to adobe blocks). These
groups run small brickyards, and make a
living from selling the blocks. These existing
small businesses that have been running
successfully for a period of time should be
supported, either financially or through training
(Diedericks, 2001: 50). This provides another
argument in favour of supporting local brickmakers
as a potential source of further local
economic development.
Considering the rich tradition of building with
earth (Gerneke, 1992a/b/c), and taking into
account such factors as the local climate,
the use of local raw materials, the minimal
environmental impact, the labor-intensity, and
the lower costs involved in earth construction,
building with earth can be regarded as an
appropriate technology for housing in South
Africa.
The South African Government (on all three
levels) and academic institutions have an
important role to play in this regard. The
diversity and ability of earth construction to
adapt to contemporary architecture could be
utilised much more effectively in government
and semi government initiatives. If the
commitment towards sustainable development
is to be taken seriously at all, the importance
of earth construction must not be overlooked.
Building high profile buildings all over the
country using earth will be a means to show
that the negative attitudes on earth architecture
can be changed.
The results of this research did not give the
expected outcomes. However Edison, when
asked how many failures he had in experiments
during the invention of the electric bulb, replied
that it was not failures but data showing which
avenues in his research did not work.
Earth construction traditionally is for dry areas.
Modern technology in earth construction
must still convince people that this type
of construction can also be used in wetter
conditions. However this convincing will take
time and should not be conducted during or
after floods. More research and intervention in
people’s attitudes towards earth construction
should be done in this country in order to
reduce our ecological footprint.
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