'Container conversions still cooking'

A cookery school in a container is making more than a difference to the Cape Town community in Langa where the Eziko Cooking School – established sixteen years ago in six converted Safmarine containers – is turning out highly trained graduates, many of whom are employed at top hotels in and around the city. It’s part and parcel of Safmarine’s Containers-inthe- Community programme started in the early 1990s when porthole or blown-air reefer containers were being phased out. Peter James, Safmarine’s public affairs director at the time, saw the potential of using these well-insulated containers for community development purposes – and two decades later the line continues to support the development of marginalised communities by providing container-based infrastructure, mostly for educational purposes. James says while container conversions were nothing new at the time, what made Safmarine different from other companies was its decision to focus on helping those in need and in no way trying to profit financially out of the exercise. “It is important to bear in the mind that the early 1990s was a time of political and social change in South Africa. Safmarine wanted to contribute practically and tangibly to this change, which is why many of our initial projects focused on job creation and education.” And while reaction from the community was positive from the very beginning, James says the project was not without its challenges – chief among these being sustainability. “Although our aim was to add value to communities as soon as possible by providing a quick infrastructural solution, we soon realised the importance of each project having a ‘champion’ and the resources to provide permanence through active management and control.” He says while Safmarine cannot be responsible for the overall sustainability of each and every project to which it has donated containers, the company’s aim has always been to provide a solid foundation for sustainability by providing the infrastructure for community upliftment projects. “It is pleasing to see that many of the projects we supported in the mid to early 1990s are still in operation today.” James, who retired from Safmarine in 1999, believes the Containers-in-the- Community programme is as relevant to Safmarine in 2012 as it was in the 1990s. “Using containers for community development purposes has benefited not only communities, but also Safmarine. It has done much to enhance the company’s reputation as a company with a significant caring label attached to it. The programme also continues to be a very positive mechanism for developing and strengthening relationships between communities and Safmarine’s customers and staff.” To date Safmarine has donated more than 8000 containers which have been used in more than 3000 projects in South Africa, Kenya, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Liberia and Brazil. CAPTION Safmarine Southern African PR and CSR manager Patricia Simons and former Safmarine director Peter James (far right) with the director of the Eziko Cooking School, Victor Mguqulwa ... Safmarine has donated more than 8000 containers.