in loco 2019: Entrepreneurship Program

in loco 2019: was a live Design & Build Entrepreneurship Program that ran from August 2019 to January 2020.

A cohort of 13 recently graduated Basotho students from local Architecture and Construction Schools participated in this innovative fellowship program.

While building the country’s first ever centre for youth with Intellectual Disability & Autism, the fellows also went through an intense Business Training program which is comprised of classroom theoretical work as well as practical assignments such as conducting market research, compiling business plans, running social media campaigns, hosting events to mention but a few, so that by the end of the fellowship the fellows are in a position to launch their own small business generating employment for themselves and others in their communities.

As well as the business trainings the fellows were also all assigned various roles which they rotated every 2 months so that they got to practice how to run a company by taking on different responsibilities including being a site manager, site architect, buyer, plants & logistics manager, health & safety officer, quality control manager and so on.

Thus being transformed from job seekers to job creators. See what other skills they learnt by watching this video by one of the the 2019 alumni here

Invest in the future of African Entrepreneurs. Donate here

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Ha Sekantsi: Sewing Project

In partnership with Possible Dreams Foundation we are working with 300 community members from the beautiful Ha’ Sekantsi community piloting a holistic approach to rural community development tackling access to Economic, Infrastructure and Education.

The community wants to set up a sewing project so thanks to a small grant from Amelija Vincent the community now has sewing machines and is being trained on how to make clothes and uniforms to raise income so they can afford to send their children to school and can contribute towards community projects such as the setting up of a learning center which is their long term dream.

Mobile Shops for Energy Efficient Stoves

We are thrilled to announce that we are the winners of an EU tender and have been selected by the social enterprise Africa Clean Energy for the design of 19 mobile shops which will be placed in the deepest parts of rural Lesotho to distribute their state of the art energy efficient stoves.

The mobile shops mean that more people will be able to gain access to these life changing integral solutions specifically designed for off-grid households and be able to cook faster, using less fuel and producing less or no smoke therefore creating a healthier environment.

Learn more about ACE’s stoves by watching this brief video

Model Child Daycare Centre for low income families

In partnership with Catholic Relief Services Lesotho, we have been been trying to address the poor quality of childcare centers in Lesotho, where mostly single mothers (who earn less than $70 per month), drop off their babies as young as a 6 weeks, while they work in the textile factories for over 10 hours per day.

Learn more about the problem by watching this brief video produced by CRS.

Through a collaborative participatory design process, we have engaged with over 25 different stakeholders including factories, trade unions, day care opearators, parents, NGO’s, Government and others to try to find solutions including ways in which day care centers can improve their quality of care through low or no cost solutions which you can see here.

In addition we have developed a model day care centre which would act as a resource hub and training centre for other day care centers. The only thing left to do now is to raise the funds needed to build it! Donate here

Kick4Life: Stadium of Life

We are very excited to be partnering with the social enterprise Kick4Life based in Maseru who are committed to social change by tranforming lives through the power of sport.

Having been involved in the design and construction of Phases I & II of Kick4Life’s Football for Hope Centre and social enterprises No 7 Restaurant and Hotel & Conference, we are thrilled to have been chosen to design and construct the Stadium of Life.

An artificial 11-a-side football stadium which will be the world’s first football stadium purpose built for social change.

The Stadium of Life will include a range of facilities dedicated to enhancing the health, education and employment prospects of disadvantaged young people in Lesotho as well as integrating a number of unique environmental features.

Learn more about the project here

Ha Sekantsi Community: Construction of Footbridge

We are so excited to announce that we have partnered with Possible Dreams Foundation working with 300 community members of the beautiful Ha’ Sekantsi community to build a much needed footbridge over the Likolobeng river. Several people have died trying to cross the river over the years.

Watch this short video to understand why this bridge is so desperately needed by the community.

The bridge will enable year-round access for the children to get to school. At the moment they are at the mercy of the often impassable river and walk 4 hours to get there and back.

The bridge will also allow community members to access essential healthcare services and the market which they rely on in order to earn a living.

The bridge project is possible thanks to funding from J Portelli Projects.

We hope that once the bridge is successfully completed, if we are able to raise enough funds, the next project will be to build a community learning center that will include a pre-school, a night school for the herd-boys as well as an adult education centrer and medical outreach facilities. This will mean that the 43 children of the village can access their right to an education. Many children are not able to go to school as they have to look after the animals in the fields and those that do get there, are often unable to concentrate due to hunger and exhaustion.

in loco fellowship: Lesotho 2019

An Architecture, Construction & Entrepreneurship Program

in loco 2019: was a live Design & Build Entrepreneurship Program that ran from August 2019 to January 2020.

A cohort of 13 recently graduated Basotho students from local Architecture and Construction Schools participate in this innovative fellowship program.

The parent-led association, IDAL (Intellectual Disability & Autism Lesotho) represents and protects the rights of individuals with intellectual disability in Lesotho. rise’s mission was to transform a 10,000sqm section of arable land in Ha Bua Sono, about 20 kms outside of the capital of Maseru, into an educational and sensory wonderland for youth with intellectual disabilities and autism to learn life and social skills as well as how to run small businesses in a safe and therapeutic setting.

Watch this short video on the Participatory Design Workshop with IDAL which is how we got to the final designs of the Centre.

This project was largely made possible thanks to funding from Standard Lesotho Bank.

in loco: Lesotho 2018

An Architecture & Construction Program

in loco: is a live design, build & entrepreneurship training program. The pilot of the first cohort ran from February to December 2018. A cohort of 20 recently graduated Basotho students from local Architecture and Construction Schools participated for the duration of the program.

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God’s Love Centre

An Entrepreneurship & Work Skills Development Program

In 2018, rise designed & constructed a new building for the God’s Love Centre orphanage in Lesotho, Southern Africa using the in loco approach, a hands-on design and building experience, focused on knowledge exchange, capacity building, cooperation and development.

This, combined with entrepreneurship training, will enable the orphanage to become more self-sustaining by launching income generating activities.

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