Faiths unite for energy and climate justice workshop

SAFCEI hosted faith leaders from the Koeberg and Cape Flats areas for a workshop on energy and climate justice at Goedgedacht Farm near Riebeeck Kasteel in the Western Cape, from 16 – 18 March.  A total of 29 people joined our first-ever hybrid training, with 22 people in person and a further 7 online.

It was also the first time one of our workshops attracted more women than men! More than 63% of our in-person delegates were women, and we were still at 55% women when we counted our online participants.

The online and in-person methodology create options for our presenters too. SAFCEI Chair, Stephen Jacobs and Liz McDaid from Outa chose to present in person while our Food and Climate Justice Coordinator, Gabriel Manyangadze and Peter Becker from Koeberg Alert Alliance presented online.  Stephen’s opening session on The Natural Step and Gabriel’s afternoon presentation on SAFCEI’s advocacy against Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s push for industrialised farming in Africa, set a solid foundation for the deeper dive on day two into the question of nuclear energy. The group was amazed to learn that nuclear energy is significantly more expensive than renewables, takes much longer to build and that there is currently no safe disposal method for the resulting nuclear waste.

Finally, we experienced a site visit on Goedgedacht Farm, observing clean energy options such as the biodigester which supplies gas for 6 hours of cooking every day, and the large solar panel installation that feeds 35kw of energy into the grid every day.

The group was inspired to continue advocating for clean energy and created a number of advocacy action plans which they look forward to implementing as they take their next steps.

Rev Berry Behr Faith Leader Liaison