A Plan For Rural Towns

A Plan For Rural Towns

(Using Waterval Boven as an example)

 “A blueprint for the transformation of small towns and rural villages into strong, sustainable communities, in complete control of their own destiny. This is a model that can serve as a template for all small towns to introduce UBUNTU Contributionism to each community. It will restore the harmonious balance between the people and the Earth because it allows people from all walks of life to achieve whatever they dream of. Their passion for what they choose to do is their contribution for the greater benefit of all in their community. From farmers to scientists, artists to engineers, health workers and especially community workers. Everyone adds greatly to the abundance in their community.”                                                                            Michael Tellinger, November 2010

Implementation

The small towns and rural communities scattered throughout the country are prime areas for the introduction of the new system of UBUNTU Contributionism. One by one we can turn these small towns into self sustainable examples of abundance and success.

How Will This Be Achieved?

The knowhow and scientific expertise is available from a variety of great minds to implement all the proposed objectives. We have been in contact with some of the greatest minds in science, medicine, energy, education, engineering, agriculture and more to help implement all the proposed plans. This is not a wish list but rather a to-do list of achievable objectives because we have already established its viability. 

Implementation is a very important part of the plan for all to understand very clearly. The people behind the UBUNTU Contribution System are not politicians or corporations with profit in mind. We are a growing group of HUMANS who consist of mothers, fathers, scientists, teachers, doctors, inventors, housewives, and many other ordinary people who care about other humans. We have taken these steps to share our knowledge with others.

Council of Elders  - Twelve Around One - Advising and representing the community

The first step that each community needs to take is to appoint its own Council of Elders that consists of 13 of the most respected elders, appointed by the people of the community and not politicians. We believe strongly in reactivating the human aspects of African traditions that have been desecrated by colonisation and replaced by bureaucratic chaos.

For this reason we will promote the reinstitution of tribal chiefs and tribal land that has been stolen from the people by the government. Where possible, all tribal chiefs must be elevated to their original tribal status of tribal chiefs in every community, their rightful place as a voice of reason, guidance and justice in the community.

We propose that the 12 newly appointed elders by the community, together with the chief will be the complete Council of Elders and will make all the final decisions for the benefit of the community on a daily basis. They will approve and implement what is most urgently need by the community and what should be developed and done on every level of each community. This will speed up the development and upgrading each community infinitely.

Communities or towns where there are no tribal chiefs, the full 13 members of the Council of Elders should be appointed by the people through a simple process of voting the most respected elders into those positions.

Replacing The Existing Municipalities

Most of the municipalities in South Africa today are corrupt and bankrupt, and they simply do not deliver any of the needs of the people. They have to be replaced. The newly appointed Council of Elders can implement the will of the people to take over the governance of their town to move towards prosperity.

The new council should launch a ‘vote of no confidence’ in the municipality and replace it with the Council of Elders. We will need to work with the current legal structures to achieve this, and for this reason we call upon lawyers or anyone in the legal profession to get involved and assist in this process. 

This will allow the people to govern themselves and rapidly provide the needs of the community on every level and on a daily basis from within the centre of the community and not some distant ivory tower with unreachable politicians who do not answer phone calls and have no understanding of the needs of the community and no intention to deliver.

Remember that this is an interim phased approach to move away from the control of corrupt governments and municipalities who have stolen the land from the people and are denying the people their rights. Virtually everything they do is unconstitutional. This peaceful approach to self governance will allow the people start to implement the principles of unity and prosperity of all the people in the community.

Community Banking

Each town or community needs to establish a bank account into which they will pay the money for all monthly fees like taxes, water, electricity and others. This account will be managed by the people through their own Council of Elders, and not politicians. This money will be use for all the needs of the community where the municipality did not deliver, maintenance, upgrading of facilities and to establish the initial community projects that will become the foundation of future prosperity within the community.

Please see the list of proposed community projects at the end of this document. The money generated from the sales of the goods produced or manufactured in the community projects will also be deposited into the community account for the use and benefit of the entire community. No more elaborate salaries for mayors and other over paid municipality executives – or spending the people’s money on fancy cars for the municipality executives, while facilities for the people are neglected.

The people will have total control over delivery of all facilities to the community.  The Council of Elders will decide on a daily basis, based on the needs of the people, what is most urgent so that it can be implemented immediately.

It may become a necessity that towns/communities that take such initiatives to create their own local currency/money – to prevent wealthy outsiders buying up all the produce that will be made available to the people of the community at a fraction of normal prices in regular shops or markets.

Eventually, as the community projects expand to every sector of the community’s needs, most of the crucial needs like electricity, water, food, housing and more, will be provided and catered for by the community for themselves.  This will lead to the people having to spend less and less money every month while they benefit from the goods that they produce for themselves until they realise that they hardly need money at all.

The only things they will need money for will be items and services that they cannot provide for themselves like cars for example.  But as the UBUNTU towns grow in numbers, all aspects and sectors of our society will be catered for – even the car manufacturing sector that will deliver almost free cars to the people.

As one town succeeds, the others will follow their example because their economy will be affected by the neighbouring town, and the people will want to emulate their success. Before long, everyone will hardly need to use any money at all and it will become clear to all that money is just an obstacle in the way to progress and abundance for all.

Step By Step

There are several steps to reaching complete UBUNTU Contributionism in the towns and ultimately in the whole country. Remember that this new social structure will bring new laws and guidelines that will be established by the communities themselves and therefore we have to view every sector with brand new eyes of unlimited opportunity, not restricted by the availability of money. It is therefore also imperative to keep reminding ourselves that everything is possible and everything is achievable.

More detail of the UBUNTU Council and how each community will govern itself will be covered in a separate document, but the introduction of the new system needs to be understood clearly. It will take several stages of using money as a tool to liberate us from money itself.

The communities will not only become completely self sufficient, but in the initial stages they will also produce a growing abundance of goods and produce in all areas. These products and services will made available to the participating members of the community for a fraction of the cost of such items in normal stores outside the community.

The surplus of the produce will be sold to outsiders for less than they can buy it anywhere else – but more than those in the community who created it. This chain of events will become a good revenue generator for the community while it is in the transition stage to full UBUNTU Contributionism. Eventually the need for money will simply fade away on its own, without much fanfare.

At the end of this document I list the many areas that will be developed in each community, but the mechanics of implementation will be described in a separate document. Please read this as a to-do list and NOT how to implement it. Each one of these activities will create many off-shoots and give rise to more opportunities for the people to prosper. 

There are FOUR  initial areas of implementation:

These are the ultimate goals in the first 1-3 years.

1.       Free Electricity – Free energy

2.       Free Water

3.       Free Housing

4.       Free Food  ( Agricultural land optimisation)

A town like Waterval Boven or Machadodorp have all the fundamental elements to make it self-reliant and provide the people with the 4 basic needs. Free energy, water, housing, and food. But over and above this there are other exciting areas that will be continuous spin-offs which will also benefit the community.

There are brilliant members of the community who have access to knowhow and technology to dramatically improve the lives of all the people by initiating various manufacturing projects, like woodwork, metalwork, building materials, etc. There are also others who have skills and abilities that they can contribute with immediate effect for their own benefit and the benefit of all residents. The additional areas of benefit for each community will be:

1.       Manufacturing of other goods – building material; metal works; wooden products; fabrics; wool; canned food; and much more.

2.       Provision of services like electricians, plumbers, tailors, builders, and many more.

Factories and workshops will have to be allocated by the Council of Elders for such activities. These could be existing premises or newly established by the community. Equipment will be donated, borrowed or bought by the community with funds from the community account. These activities will allow most of the residents to immediately get involved for their own benefit and to contribute to the greater benefit of all.

Community Projects – Community Participation

Each one of these projects will require the following action:

1)      Expertise to establish the project or to take over existing municipal activity and upgrading it;

2)      A small team of permanent workers

3)      Larger team of community workers – each one contributing 3 hours per week

There will be permanent workers in each sector and part-time workers. Permanent workers will benefit by getting a fixed wage but also whatever it is they produce for free – with limits set by the Council.

Community workers or part-time workers will benefit by only paying a fraction of the price for all goods and services in the community. This is where the UBUNTU Contributionism vision starts to show its true benefit to all the people.

Everyone will be required to contribute 3 hours per week to any of the community projects. The people can choose any of the projects and change regularly to keep things interesting while also learning new skills by doing a variety of things. So in essence everyone in the community will be a “part-time” worker , contributing 3 hours per week to the greater benefit of all in the community.

In a town of 1000 people this will add up to 3000 hours of community work every week by the people on their own community projects to benefit themselves. This is an incredible amount of work done and will deliver incredible results for the community.

The current municipalities cannot afford to pay anywhere close to so many people to perform so much work under the existing structures. This is just a simple example how effective the UBUNTU system can be very quickly and deliver results almost immediately.

FREE ENERGY

(Solar, Hydro-electric, Wind, Geothermal, Gas and New energy sources)

·         Solar energy is the most obvious. The community fund will provide a weekly implementation plan to install solar panels and lights for as many homes as possible.

·         From the daily funds received by recycling the rubbish dump, we can probably supply 1 solar panels to provide 2-4 households with light every day.

·         The waterfall is a continuous energy source just going to waste. A turbine placed in the waterfall will not pollute the river, nor use up any water. It will most likely generate enough electricity to supply the whole town.

·         There are many rapids and smaller waterfalls that can be used for hydroelectric power as well.  Waterwheels and hydro turbines can be placed in the river at specifically chosen places to generate energy.

·         Existing bridges can be converted into basic dam walls with turbines that will not affect the environment negatively but rather benefit the community.

·         This can be channelled into the existing Eskom network to supply each property.

·         Each sewerage dam must be converted into a bio-gas or methane gas plant to provide everyone with free or very affordable gas for cooking, heat and even light. This will allow the solar panels to only power the lights and other basic appliances.

·         Geothermal energy has been successfully implements in various places in SA and must be explored.

·         Wind turbines should be erected to add to the electricity supply of the community. This may be specific for some of the community projects.

·         There are various options of new technology and alternative energy sources that must be explored and implemented where possible.

FREE WATER

·         Water belongs to the people – not the government or any other corporation that has laid claim to our water.

·         We have the capacity to deliver water to every corner of South Africa if necessary.

·         In Waterval Boven, there is so much water coming out of the mountain, that nobody should be without water, and everyone should have free, energised mountain water supplied to their homes.

·         Water from the mountain streams can be utilised for drinking and other needs of industry.

·         The water reservoir can be upgraded to receive clean mountain water and distribute it to the houses.

·         It may be a good option to create smaller water tanks that supply several homes at a time, to prevent water shortages if the main supply is damaged in some way. We need to avoid a grid or mass supply system that can go down and affect all the people.

·         Sewerage and drain water will be purified with advanced green technology and can be used for agriculture and in need of shortages, for drinking too.

·         All water will undergo a natural process called “energising” which makes the water healthy and even helps to prevent diseases when people drink such naturally energised water.

FREE HOUSING

·         All conscious architects and designers are aware of the principles of the flow of energy in their designs. This vision and understanding must be part of all building and development.

·         Design a new integrated eco-friendly town plan of Waterval Boven.

·         Before any structures are erected or upgraded, we have to evaluate the layout of the town and use the best town planners, environmental experts and civil engineers to redesign the layout of the town for maximum benefit to the people.

·         This must include the vision of future growth and expansion and be in absolute harmony with nature. This will be very beneficial to the health of the entire community the utilisation of water and the flow of energy as is practiced by eastern cultures and given various names like feng shui.

·         Embark on an extensive building material production. Using natural building materials like clay/straw/lime bricks/thatch/wood/stone.

·         Obtaining free or cheap stone and sand from the surrounding mines or natural quarries with fallen stone.

·         Use our initiative and imagination to make and create all kinds of materials necessary for building houses, factories and agricultural structures needed by the community.

·         Allow the artists to create materials that add an artistic flavour to the building process.

·         Lobby SAPPI for wood that grows in the area to build log houses where necessary or where required. After all, much of the SAPPI land belongs to the people. Such wood from SAPPI will also be used to build windows and doors and furniture and all other needed items for the people.

·         Establish a wood factory for the carpenters and also use this as a learning centre for people to learn the art of wood work.

·         The factory can also be use by the community members to order or build their own products if they wish.

·         All those who participate in the activities in this area will immediately be eligible for free housing, free water and free electricity. Others will benefit based on their contribution to the community.

·         This sector will be supported by many people every week since everyone in the community will be contributing 3 hours per week community service – the building sector will be one of the community projects people can choose to contribute in.

·         If 10% of the people do community work in the building sector every week, this means that 100 people (in a town of 1000 people) will work on construction sites every week. This will speed up the development immensely.

FREE FOOD

·         The Council of Elders needs to establish how much land is necessary to grow enough food for the entire community. This is the key starting point in determining what and how needs to be planted, grown, cultivated, bred, or farmed for the full year in any specific community.

·         This is not a difficult task for those who know how to do this. Therefore these crucial decisions must be made by agricultural experts and NOT politicians.

·         The objective is to plant THREE times as much as is required by the community.

·         This is PARAMOUNT for the creation of abundance and the ability to supply other communities with food in various ways – to be described.

·         Agreements must be reached with farmers and land owners, including the government, to utilise the immediately surrounding land for the food growing activity. This will allow all the people easy access to the lands as part of their community contribution to work in the various food growing programs.

·         A communal dining hall is probably the first project we need to establish to gain the confidence of the people. To provide one good meal a day for the hungry, the homeless, the elderly and sick, and for those out of work and all those who cannot afford food. Especially the orphans.

·         Utilise one of the empty municipal buildings in town to create a functional kitchen with tables and chairs and get some of the jobless and elderly people with the right skills to do the cooking. This can eventually escalate to 2 and 3 meals a day when the community projects have become really productive.

·         The small towns are filled with so-called “old age homes” that are hardly surviving and sustaining the elderly. Some of the elderly live alone without any support at all. Such people are in most cases the poorest and most vulnerable of all.

·         It is pensioners and elderly people like these who will be asked to volunteer in the community kitchens to give them a purpose and something to look forward to every day.

·         They will be the initiators who create the loving and caring environment for the rest of the community in the communal food hall and bring a sense of togetherness and unity into the community.

·         These community kitchens or dining halls will not be seen as a place where “poor people” go – but rather be seen as community dining halls with a great vibe and energy and a place where every member of the community will be welcome to come have a meal – and make a contribution if they can.

·         The funds for this can come from the recycling of the rubbish dump and other activity – or even become self funding from the donations of those who can donate towards having a good meal.

·         The community bakery must be upgraded to bake a large number of breads every day to provide all people with bread at a very low cost. Not just the boring government loafs, but all kinds of breads that can also be sold at the community-farmers’ market. Those that contribute will get free bread.

·         Utilising idle municipal land and using land belonging to farmers in the surrounds for agriculture to grow all kinds of food for the community.

·         Establishing milk production dairies for milk, butter and cheese.

·         Free range chickens for eggs and meat.

·         Build top quality growth tunnels for vegetable and herbs all year round.

·         Fruit and citrus orchards – will also have many spin-off products.

·         Bee hives to pollinate the trees and provide honey. Each bee hive can produce an average of 30 kg honey per year.

·         Wool production. Where possible, the community must have its own flock of wool sheep to produce wool and then be able to produce materials for all kinds of products and clothing. This will start a host of related activities that will benefit the community very quickly and repeatedly.

·         Fish breeding – we can breed hundreds of thousands of trout and other fish in the existing deserted fish farm. For consumption by the community and for selling outside of the community. Every community has some kind of deserted space that can be reactivated as a valuable community project for the benefit of all. It could be a deserted fish farm; or a golf course; or a saw mill – just think out of the box and look around you where you live. You will be surprised what you find.

·         Many towns have crystal clear and pure water from streams and fountains. This can become an instant benefit to the community as healthy bottled water – as opposed to the highly suspicious bottled water that we are offered by Coke and Nestle.

OTHER BENEFICIAL ACTIVITIES

·         Processing the sewerage into fertiliser will also generate income for the community and allow us to fertilise our own lands.

·         Using the sewerage plant to generate gas – use for heating and more.

·         Making compost from cow dung and other organic material.

·         Utilising the wattle trees for manufacturing wooden items.

·         Discarded wood from SAPPI and other wood for mulch/wood chips.

·         Building a small factory for converting used tyres into charcoal and generating energy from the heat. This is also huge solution for the pollution aspect of used tyres.

·         Setting up effective literacy classes for children and adults with available teaching tools by members of the community.

·         Plant seedlings of all kinds for own use and external sales.

·         Restructure the roads and parks and schools and sports grounds for the benefit of all the people.

·         Re-establish the Veld School. This will bring several thousand students to town every year.

·         Plant trees along all the roads, schools and parks.

·         Create well planned recreational areas for promotion of arts and culture.

·         Allow artists to create works of art that are displayed along the streets and for sale to visitors.

·         Large art gallery.

·         Clothing factory, where materials are also dyed into beautiful fabrics.

·         Shoe factory – using leather and tyres for new innovative strong shoes.

·         Turn the town into a haven for tourist – utilise the river front as major attraction.

·         Active trout fishing activities and competitions.

·         Promote all the activities and attractions in the town with a well planned and ongoing PR campaign to SA and the world.

·         Turn the town into the most beautiful town in South Africa attracting people from all over the world.

·         Promote the ancient cultural history of ancient civilisations – the real cradle of humankind.

·         The various working farms will be promoted as tourist attractions to city children to learn about life and mother Earth.

·         Set up community manufacturing of all kinds of products needed by the community. These can also be sold to outsiders as income in the early stages of transition.

·         A farmers market should be established to attract people from the entire region and passers-by. All the goods manufactured and produced in town can be sold for the benefit of the community. This will include: Fruit, vegetables, herbs, meat, fish, butter, milk cheese, bread, wooden products, art, etc.

Community Income Generation During the Transitional Period

This is a list of just some of the products and services that the community will be able to sell and trade with while moving towards a full UBUNTU community. The money will be used for continued improvements and upgrades on all levels of the town.

Bottled water, milk, butter, cheese, eggs, bread, chickens, vegetables, fruit, seedlings, fish, furniture, windows, doors, other building materials, bricks, fertiliser, compost, gas, Veld School; camping, water activities, home industry products like jams, chillies, biscuits, art works, clothing, fabrics, shoes and many more products.

Final Destination

The ultimate goal is to convert the whole country into an UBUNTU society that thrives without the need for money because of the contribution of the people with their skills and talents. This unified activity will rapidly lead to success and abundance on all fronts. The substantial mineral wealth of the country will be used to stabilise our currency in the immediate and short term, and to obtain products that are not available in SA and for any other needs.

Our minerals and natural wealth will no longer be stolen and hijacked by greedy international investors who use our people as slave labour for their own benefit and shoot them when they strike for living wages – like in the horrific incident at Marikana. Our leaders must be held accountable for this – since they are the ones who continue to allow this inhumane enslavement of our people in favour of commercial deals with greedy mining companies.

A major development drive will be encouraged across all sectors of life and industry, to design and manufacture everything locally.  Since money is no object, the central Council of Elders will provide everything needed to each and every producer and manufacturer, from the mineral and natural wealth of the country.

The most fundamental aspect is the large-scale production and cultivation of food. Farmers will be treated as the heroes of the country. One in every ten people will most likely be involved in the production of food in some way. All their needs will be supported in every area by the central Council of Elders (the new government). This will result in absolute abundance of food and no possibility of any hunger. We will be able to feed the entire sub-Saharan part of Africa.

VIVA UBUNTU - RESTORE THE LAND AND CONTROL TO THE PEOPLE