Guess What?

October 5, 2023By RISE INT0 comment

We have done it!!!

It is incredible how time flies when you’re having fun! As we look back at the month of September, rise International held various advocacy events with key stakeholders from the private and public sector as well as civil society.

Official launch of the Circular Innovations Expo

Started out with a roundtable discussion with relevant stakeholders in the policy-making of the built environment from government ministries, City Councils, academia, the European Commission, and Habitat for Humanity hosted by the British High Commission in Maseru. The aim here was to present our key findings from research done on indigenous and alternative low-carbon building materials and initiate a dialogue on how to develop an ecosystem towards developing these sustainable, thermally efficient locally sourced building materials.

Fig1 – Collage of the round table discussions with relevant stakeholders led by rise team and the founder – Daniela Gusman

The second event was a knowledge exchange workshop between Lesotho and Irish Town Planners on how learning from good urban planning practices in Ireland can be implemented and disseminated in Lesotho at the district level. The different Ministries that enforce planning regulations and building codes, benefited from the experiences that were shared from Ireland setting them on a pathway to success in reducing Lesotho’s dependence on South African Building Codes and to increase compliance in the country.

Fig 2-3: Attendees of the stakeholders’ conference during a presentation

These engagements were paving the way for the Circular Innovations Conference and Expo which was officially launched by the Principal Secretary of the Ministry of Local Government, Chieftainship, Home Affairs and Police, Mr. Moshe Mosaase. The Conference and Expo were the culmination of 11 months of research and formed the last of three phases of our Research and Innovation program on locally sourced and eco-friendly building materials. The aim of the expo was to raise awareness of the production and use of low-carbon locally sourced indigenous and repurposed building materials. This was done by showcasing alternative building materials for sustainable building in Lesotho to promote economical and environmentally friendly methodologies within the context of Lesotho’s unique cultural and environmental landscape.

Fig 4-5 Principal Secretary Moshe Mosaase addressing the conference attendees. rise Design and Construction coordinator – Thato Nkikana addressing attendees and some of the key stakeholders in attendance.

The exhibition consisted of a series of installations of sustainable, low-carbon indigenous, and alternative building materials with good thermal qualities. These materials can build houses that are warmer in winter and cooler in summer, reducing the need to burn expensive fossil fuels such as paraffin and charcoal, which helps reduce heating and cooling costs, while at the same time helping the environment by reducing carbon emissions.

Fig 6: Repurposed cans wall, attendees of the expo launch, and adobe bricks

Watch this space….. on next steps where we shall be publishing our findings, reporting on the progress from the pledges made at the Conference and surveys completed by the general public at the Expo on which building materials they are most interested in.

If you are interested in learning more about this initiative please write to us on [email protected]