The iShack Project is not about using technology to address the needs of the poor. It is about building social capital so that community members can take charge and come up with solutions to their problems.
This in a nutshell was the message of Prof Mark Swilling from the School of Public Leadership at Stellenbosch University (SU) at a recent community of practice meeting organised by SU's Division for Community Interaction.
The aim of these meetings is to share ideas and experiences, increase awareness of activities within the university, provide support, facilitate collaboration across disciplines, strengthen SU's community interaction as a whole and facilitate the creation of new knowledge.
Much has been said about the iShack Project and its contribution to the incremental upgrading of informal housing in Enkanini, an illegal and informal settlement in Kayamandi, a suburb of Stellenbosch. The focus has largely fallen on the technical aspect of this project and the simple yet significant improvements it makes in the living conditions of residents, but Prof Swilling placed extra emphasis on the social impact of the project.
According to him, transdisciplinary research focuses on co-producing knowledge WITH society and not FOR society. He also referred to residents as co-researchers.
"It is easy to think of technical solutions. That is not the challenge in development. The challenge is building on-going capacity of the community to challenge the state to realise its responsibility," he said
According to Prof Swilling, residents should realise that it is possible to collaborate, to work together and to figure out the next step.
"The aim is to make community members say: "We believe it is viable to invest in our community". The problem statement we came up with is a question asked by the community members themselves: How do we improve our lives today?"
He expanded on this by asking what incremental upgrading means to someone living in Enkanini.
"It means WAIT. Wait until the grids arrive and bring water, sanitation, electricity. Research has shown that this can take up to eight years," he said. He added that many people are unwilling to spend money before "development" comes, but they end up waiting for years.
The "i" in iShack stands for "improved", and it entails cost-effective and sustainable modifications to the basic corrugated iron shack. One such modification is a solar panel system that provides enough energy to power a TV, cell phone charger, three indoor lights and one security light.
This in situ upgrading does not eliminate the need for permanent housing, but will hopefully encourage residents to become organised around incremental upgrading.
"This is a difficult concept in a country where the state promises to provide the necessary infrastructure. If there were no promise, people would have to act," Prof Swilling added.
The researchers hope that the community will become a set of active citizens that co-produce knowledge and solutions.
"The research is connected to the social will of the powerless and not the political will of the powerful," Prof Swilling said.
Photograph: Prof Mark Swilling talks to members of Stellenbosch University's staff who visited Enkanini recently.
