5) Description of housing product/service offering: The main product I have introduced is an innovative simple housing product that uses 45 similar pieces of material to create 15 equilateral triangles, which when assembled in a side by side configuration forms part of an Icosahedron and serves as an extremely strong, versatile and scalable framework, suitable for housing and various other shelter requirements. The simplicity of design, affordability, ease and speed of manufacturing and construction, and in comparison with other structures, uses less material to form a larger volumes over floor surfaces, requiring less training and minimal skill sets, thereby making an ideal product to provide housing for all. The product primarily addresses the affordability factor within the context of the housing shortage and requires the creation of an innovative deliverable mechanism which provides the opportunities for sustainable and integrated technologies in alternative and renewable energies, sanitation, water, food production, ICT and community development. My organization is involved in all the related activities as well as the development of hemp based building materials. The primary "beneficiaries" viewed more as client, producer/consumers and equity partners, are from the previously marginalized and historically disadvantaged communities.

6) Description of innovation: My innovative approach differs from existing programs which primarily provide singular solutions. SMADEV approach encompasses a multitude of integrated technologies and provides comprehensive solutions to the most pressing poverty related problems. It is designed to provide replicable models and serves as blueprints for future developments. n’Kozi Homes housing component was the grand prix winner of the 2005 Innovation and Sustainability Awards, is particularly unique and serves as the backbone for new, enabling and innovative technologies in energies, sanitation and indoor home food production. There are 5 South African technological innovations; n’Kozi Homes, www.nkozihomes.co.za ; Kitchen Garden www.kitchengarden.co.za a micro indoor hydroponic home food production system; PlayPumps www.playpumps.org a children’s roundabout that pumps fresh water, winner of the World Bank Marketplace Development Award in 2000; Waterless toilets www.eloo.co.za 2005 winner of the Intel Environment Award; and Zinc-Air Fuel Cells www.aedc.co.za finalist in 2005 Top Technology 100, combined with International innovations in solar, photovoltaic, biogas and ICT are integrated into a unique deliverable with a financing mechanism that makes this initiative and these components unique.

7) Benefits to clients: My initiative is an integral component of a National Initiative, the National Organic Produce Initiative (NOPI) which is a grass roots program involving local, provincial and national authorities and is designed to mobilize the agricultural, environmental and socio- economical beneficiation value-chain around a cooperative, communal, integrated and ethical empowerment formula, which shall vest the ownership of land to all those who can maintain its fertility & beauty, whilst producing for themselves and the markets in a sustainable way. The delivery of these technology applications is built around the principles of Private Public Partnerships (PPP) a cooperative coalition between all levels and departments of government, NGO’s, private sector enterprises and beneficiary communities, with the identification of responsible and dutiful leadership in communities, institutions and commerce, the identification of Local Economic Development (LED) hubs and beneficiary communities comprising of Historically Disadvantaged Individuals..(HDI’s) .n’Kozi Homes and Kitchen Garden are founding members of NOPI, the South African Council on Organic Development and Sustainability (SACODAS), (a stakeholderer’s forum and implementation arm of the NOPI) and the Western Cape Hemp Initiative, affiliated to the National Hemp Initiative. SMADEV is an integral part of the NOPI/SACODAS deliverable, Sustainable Integrated Villages of Agro-Ecology(SIVA) which is at the center of this National initiative to transform the way land is managed and n’Kozi Homes is a key component for the provision of innovative housing.. A project “Grow your own House” which aims to grow and process hemp into building materials has been initiated and plans to deliver 300 houses in the pilot project.

8) Key operational partnerships: A key partnership has been established with Diverse International, a private engineering company that has a contractual arrangement with National Government to deliver the NOPI.(National Organic Produce Initiative) Agreements have been established with technology partners from the European Union; European Fibre Technologies for technology transfers in hemp production and hemp fiber production for the manufacture of hemp building materials. Agreements have been established with consultants from the Clean Development Mechanism-Joint Initiative-Carbon Credits for the sale of Carbon Credits to EU companies that is designed to finance this initiative. Business partners and strategic relationships with various role players that share the same vision and are central to this initiative have been established and in addition to the aforementioned, these include: Greg Wright Architects; Tony Cooksey of TCA Engineers; SolarDome SA for Passive Solar; Sunfed for Photovoltaic; RTC Solar Energy for Vacuum Tube Solar Heaters; Jo Jo Tanks for waterless EcoSan Toilets; Kaiulani Civils for Infrastructures; FreeCom Group and STORM for enabling ICT technologies; Peter Harley Construction and Civil for infrastructure and construction; Khula Construction; Top Ecology Co Ltd – Japanese Environmental Solutions for clean water technologies; and Shenzhen Puxin Science & Technology Co., Ltd from China for waste recycling and biogas solutions.

9) Financial model: The government housing subsidy programs ensure affordability with top-off financing and micro-financing readily available. The employees will be paid above the minimum requirements ensuring their abilities to own the homes with requirements of skills transfer thereby assuring sustainability. Promotion of; sweat equity through direct participation in the building process; do- it-yourself (DIY) to the capable through basic kits with add-on options; the creative use of fashioning trash into building resource materials; competitions for most creative recycling; direct marketing approach based on multi level marketing (MLM) models to mitigate the labor expense component aiding the exponential growth of homeowners and skills transfer through this community based labor exchange system.

          • Costs as percentage of income: 21%

          • Financing: The initiative is financed through the exchange of carbon credits to EU countries facilitated through Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) Joint Initiative (JI) Carbon Credits to EU countries and is designed to be self- sustainable and profitable beyond the initial funding. "Beneficiaries" contribute through sweat equity, skills transfer and/or direct purchase within the community exchange system. Other sources of funding beyond the initial investments are derived from income generating activities such as production and processing of agro- ecological products with local marketing and export to EU countries ensures the financial stability of this initiative.

10) Effectiveness

          • Project outcomes: The outcome so far has been the necessity to create this innovative delivery mechanism designed to overcome the constraints and many challenges in selling to the poor while not threatening the incumbent and entrenched with interests in maintaining the status quo. With acceptance of this initiative as a strategic National Initiative and the integration of the technologies and various diversified institutions into a PPP,(Public Private Partnership) securing the technology partners and financing, the initiative is beginning to implement the pilot projects. The clients that have benefited so far are those families that are living in the prototype models that we have built and the recipients of the technological components.

          • Number of clients in past year: The current program which has integrated all the diversified components into a homogenous deliverable is in start-up phase. Clients have benefited through the acquisition and use of technological components from the various facets that make up thi

          • Percentage of clients that are poor or marginalized: 96%

          • Potential demand: In South Africa alone, excluding present demand, it is estimated there is a backlog of over 10 million houses within the affordable housing sector and this gap continues to widen. Any client groups, in any regions or countries could benefit through the replication of this initiative as it serves as a development model providing all the necessary components for sustainability, scalability and technological integration and is relatively simple to adapt to any environment with only the basic requirements of water and land. The overall market is in excess of 5 M.

11) Scaling up strategy

          • Stage of the initiative: Start Up stage.

          • Expansion plan: Our expansion plan over the next 3 years is to replicate projects in every province in South Africa that will function as the training and education facilities for others to promulgate and replicate similar projects across the continent.

12) Origin of the initiative: The initiative started with the development and patenting of the n’Kozi concept as a solution for affordable housing in South Africa. It has since evolved into providing integrated and comprehensive solutions towards upliftment of marginalized people and communities with the primary mission and objective to alleviate poverty. The individual driving the idea was and continues to be Joseph Feigelson and has obtained the support of Diverse International who is driving the initiative from a top- down approach within the framework of a National Initiative and a PPP.

Contact Information:
Joseph  Feigelson
Ecopreneur
n'Kozi Developments (Pty) Ltd; & Kitchen Garden
(Private company and individual)
6 Arundel Circle TOKAI 7945 South Africa
South Africa
Tel: +27217121293; +27828209646
Email: joseph@nkozihomes.co.za
Website: www.nkozihomes.co.za www.kitchengarden.co.za