RULIV has partnered and worked with two teams of IBM’s International Corporate Service Corps, a company social responsibility programme in which staffers perform community-driven economic development projects in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America. The main thrust of the work is the intersection of business, technology and society and the programme focuses on skills and technology development offered by highly skilled IBM staff. The co-operation model ensures active engagement and exposure of beneficiary communities to competitive practices currently in use in developed countries.

RULIV facilitated the initiation of the Cheese Factory following the closure of a privately owned factory in Emalalheni Local Municipality. 37 emerging farmers and 9 commercial farmers in the area entered into a partnership with 50% equity each. The main objective of the factory was to secure a permanent market for the emerging and commercial farmers in the area and to create employment opportunities and food security for the local community. When the factory started operating producing cheeses such as Cheddar, Gouda, and Edam, and yoghurt, amasi and cream, 24 local people were employed.

The project was established resulting from an expressed need by a group of emerging farmers. The overall goal of the project was to improve sorghum production, aimed at uplifting the socio‐economic well being of the Maqhashu farmers. Through RULIV’s facilitation and the involvement of the Emalalheni Municipality, the sorghum‐producing farmers in Maqhashu agreed to make use of their individual plots for a single production point and the establishment of an association. Through continued mentoring, the project has become a model for alternative marketing opportunities and various product packaging; partnerships between smallholders and large buyers of crops.

In partnership with the National Woolgrowers’ Association (NWGA), RULIV implemented a shearing tent pilot project aimed at improving the incomes of small-scale sheep farmers. The project involved the purchase of two fully equipped tents for the shearing and classification of wool. These tents, as was practiced in the 1950s, would move from village to village, to service local farmers as the need arose. While a fixed shed can only be used for a limited number of sheep, a portable tent can be used for many more sheep and can cover the full shearing season and a wide geographical area. The project process assisted RULIV to identify and train an entrepreneur responsible for moving the tent around and the maintenance of the equipment on behalf of the local Wool Growers’ Association. In the off-season the tent would be rented out for weddings, funerals and other public events in order to ensure sustained business viability throughout the year.

RULIV has had a long working partnership with the provincial Department of Sustainable Human Settlements, particularly the Housing Needs and Research Directorate. RULIV provided technical assistance in form of capacity-building in research and contract management in order to assist the directorate meet its mandate to facilitate the existence of a legislative and policy environment conducive to housing development within the Province. The organisation facilitated evidence-based integrated housing development planning and rendered ongoing support to municipalities and provincial housing stakeholders to participate meaningfully in housing delivery. In addition, RULIV was called upon to facilitate the provincial consultative seminar on the development of the research agenda for the directorate.

RULIV facilitated a developmental food garden and medicinal plants project through which natural endowments owned communally could sustainably deliver significant returns to surrounding local communities. Activities included securing of land tenure and communal revenue arrangements to create an environment conducive to the establishment of eco-tourism businesses for the benefit of the communities. These included organic horticulture (medicinal plants and vegetables) and the development of appropriate technologies for effective production and harvesting. Partners in the project include the Nqabara Tourism Trust, the Department of Water Affairs, the Mbashe Local Municipality (MLM) and the Amathole District Municipality (ADM).

RULIV was approached to review the Buffalo City Municipality strategy for engagement in the fight against HIV and AIDS this strategy in order to incorporate aspirations outlined in the BCM Integrated Development Plan (IDP). In addition, the reviewed strategy was expected to provide a guide to the municipality in developing programmes and forming partnerships in initiatives aimed at curbing the pandemic. The reviewed strategy was therefore also aligned to the BCM Youth Development, Gender, Disabled and Older Persons Strategies which include the following:

• Advising on HIV and Aids and STI policy and strategy, and related matters;

• Providing leadership and creating and strengthening partnerships for an expanded local response to HIV and Aids in the Buffalo City Municipal areas; and

• Creating a platform where information on sectoral HIV and Aids interventions could be disseminated to enhance departmental capacity to provide responses on agreed priority programmes.

RULIV has mapped HIV and home-based care in the Amathole District Municipality and developed a database of initiatives for the district. The database enables the HIV and Aids organisations together with government departments at both provincial and national levels to analyse the attributes and characteristics of community initiatives. This in turn allowed authorities and role players to make informed and effective decisions around the provision of back-up support and the value of and the importance of such services. The provincial roll-out of the project will commence once funding has been secured.

The organisation Imbumba Yamakhosikazi Akomkhulu (IYA) was established in 2005. RULIV was apprached to provide capacity building aimed at empowering the IYA to act as champions in improving the lives of women and children in rural communities. This included ensuring that rural women were actively involved in planning and implementation of socio-economic development interventions, had the ability to manage their organisation together with the capacity to support abused women and share and document lessons learnt and best practices.

These conferences in 2005, 2007 & 2008 were aimed at building a network of NGOs, government and home-based care (HBCs) initiatives. The conferences brought together key stakeholders to build a common understanding of the issues facing such initiatives and to generate the required planning information which supports NGOs, HBCs and other government socio-economic programmes.