Nourish Eco Village
Nourish Eco Village: Building Spaces for Communities to Thrive
Our work with South African nonprofit Nourish began in 2022, helping to build a sustainable enterprise hub for their growing list of community programs in rural South Africa.
Location: South Africa
The Mission
Nourish was founded in 2011 to focus on growing resilient communities in rural South Africa through environmental and nutritional education and upliftment.
The Need
After years of working in repurposed spaces, Nourish needed more space and better facilities for their active and growing community programs.
Together with a volunteer architecture team, Nourish envisioned a self-sustaining community hub with functional, flexible spaces to support programs as varied as food security, afterschool care, education, economic development, and more.
The Team
More than 25 Andersen Construction employees and friends
The Project
The Andersen Foundation and Andersen Construction team jumped on board to lead this exciting build project, including sourcing building materials, coordinating shipments and deliveries, and sending a team of 26 skilled volunteers to rural South Africa to help construct the first Nourish Eco Village.
Over the course of two trips in 2022, our team laid concrete foundations, moved shipping containers, constructed covered decks, painted murals, built fences, landscaped garden areas, and more. We also employed a variety of local laborers to help complete the work, providing income and training in valuable construction skills.
The completed first phase of the Nourish Eco Village provided functional, beautiful spaces to help Nourish continue supporting vital programs, including:
Green Kidz Clubhouse for aftercare and homework assistance
An outdoor classroom to encourage interactive learning
Grannies’ Kitchen, which provides daily meals for over 200 vulnerable children
Administrative offices to support program management
Two years later, the second phase of our work with Nourish expanded the Eco Village even more. This project focused on constructing the SEDIWA Hub, a multifunctional community space constructed from seven repurposed shipping containers.
This innovative facility was designed to accommodate learning, entrepreneurship, and social enterprise, including:
A bakery
A coffee shop
A computer lab/training center
A sewing center
A craft shop
This second phase of the Nourish Eco Village project also included creating a massive, paved outdoor plaza complete with sunshades, pathways, and steps, connecting the Eco Village’s buildings, outdoor spaces, and play areas—all of which were immediately put to work by enthusiastic community members and children.
We look forward to continuing our work with Nourish in the coming years, as they envision even bigger and more expansive growth for their vibrant communities. Next stop? A new craft center to serve community artisans. Bring on the build!
Visit Nourish to learn more.
Watch a short documentary of our first phase of work with Nourish