our challenge
In many places along the rural African coastline but also in major cities like Cape Town, kids are exposed to high risks. Due to lacking ranges for education and leisure time as well as mental and physical development, many kids hang on the streets.
"They are so much surrounded by drugs, gangs, and criminalism, that it is more than likely for them to go this path."
Suitable environments for kids and young adults are missing. A very little perceived self-efficacy is followed by lacking motivation for education and perspective.
We are working passionately on a project to engage the global surf community to take some of these kids under their wing and support a positive future perspective.
our vision
The vision is to have a number of mobile workshops in form of converted shipping containers along the coastline. They will be the framework to enable shapers from all over the world to share their knowledge and support the development of an independent, local surf culture.
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"This website is going to be a platform for all members and partners of the project."
With our blog, current cooperations projects, workshops and new eco designs can be shared with the community around the project and on social media.
Later down the line, the project can become a brand to fund the workshops. Products like wooden surfboards, handslides, skimboards and indoboards can be purchased on the website to support the project.
our answer
Using surf sport and the ocean as a “vehicle” and in cooperation with the young adults, we want to discover new perspectives. We want to promote a sustainable and locally owned surf culture, standing for stability and recreation apart from the tough all-day life.
We will introduce the young adults to crafts and enable them to build their own surfboards. The key aspect of the workshops, besides producing their own material, is to create a positive experience to uplift their self-efficiency- expectations. This, in our belief, is the basis for an optimistic view of the future. The project aims to support the development of a strong value-based community, to be an appropriate alternative to dangerous influences of the townships.
In partnership with social organizations, working in the surf context, we are offering a program to go beyond surfing, focusing on the training of skills and knowledge.
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"Surfboardshapers, as a major part of the project, are getting the chance to pass on their knowledge to the youngsters."
Introducing them to materials like wood, plastics and textile, they will learn how to handle tools and hand machines.
Creating an object from the first sketch to a three-dimensional product is offering a great range of experiences. As they will be working in groups, the kids will have to collaborate and train their communication skills to make decisions collectively.
Participating in one of our workshop programs, the participants will not only provide surfboards to the local community. Receiving a certification, they will be qualified for the next steps in a crafting career. Alternatively, they can become shapers, supported by the project or mentors within the project.
