TOWARDS BUILDING A COMMUNITY CIRCULAR ECONOMY

Targeted nutrition Supporting Money injection intervention community heroes into local economies

A COLLABORATIVE SOCIAL RELIEF RESPONSE TO COVID-19: SUPPORTING VULNERABLE GROUPS, REWARDING COMMUNITY VOLUNTEERS AND INJECTING MONEY DIRECTLY INTO LOCAL ECONOMIES

Over the next months, six cycles of digital vouchers will be rolled out The Community Care digital voucher to provide social relief to selected vulnerable groups and reward commu- is a targeted approach to addressing the nity volunteers in eight neighbour- hoods across . This provides socio-economic impacts of Covid-19. safe, immediate, convenient and cost-effective social relief and directly benefits local businesses.

Between February and April 2020, of adults interviewed in reported that a child went 47 % the NIDS CRAM Wave 12 15% hungry in the last 7 days.3 3 MILLION study reported that their households These figures persist despite the signifi- South Africans lost their jobs1. ran out of money for food in April. cant emergency relief efforts, such as the announced adults reported that their Between May and June 2020, 2/5 household had lost its of adults reported that 500 MILLION main source of income. 21 % someone in the household fiscal relief package and the R3 billion went hungry in the last 7 days, and Solidarity Fund (of which R1,36 billion has been disbursed since 15 Oct 2020).4

The Community Care voucher builds heroes and injecting money directly Community Care voucher has the on the social relief efforts of non-state into local economies. Non-state potential to go beyond the relief effort institutions to respond to the Covid-19 institutions' have the advantages of and forms a key part of the restart crisis by providing a targeted inter- agility and collaborative partnerships project, Towards Building a Communi- vention for the most needy, recognis- to respond as needs arise to supple- ty Circular Economy. ing and supporting community ment State efforts. In this way, the

Targeted nutrition interven- Recognising Money injection into tion for those who need it and supporting local economies most: pregnant women and community heroes children 0-6 years

The first 1000 days of a child’s life (from More than 6 months into the Covid-19 The Community Care digital vouchers conception up until their second birth- crisis in , community are redeemed through Flash and day) is a crucial period of health, organisations are flagging. Donors and Kazang at local spaza or house shops. growth and neurodevelopment that volunteers are fatigued, and resources This is a direct injection of money into forms the foundation for the rest of limited, and yet the need for social local economies. their lives. relief is increasing.6 The Community Care voucher provides a much-needed Eight neighbourhoods (, Children’s healthy development relies injection of money and support to Hanover Park, , Kuyasa, on adequate, healthy nutrition which in sustain community organising efforts – Harare, Monwabisi Park, Nyanga and turn requires a food secure household.5 ECD teachers, community gardeners ) in Cape Town in which the As such, pregnant women and children and food kitchen volunteers. Offering a partnership between the City of Cape under seven are eligible for the voucher to ECD teachers supports the Town and VPUU has been operating are Community Care voucher, which ECD sector as they struggle to re-open, part of the project Towards Building a supplements household food security with limited resources and few paying Community Circular Economy. This so as to provide healthy nutrition. learners. Partnering with local food project is a logical consequence of the Working with Early Learning Research production initiatives connects the up to fifteen-year relationship Unit as an intermediary, local ECD project to members of community Forums, and other ECD organisations garden groups providing stability and connects VPUU to children 0-6 years, rewarding those who volunteer their who need nutritional support in this time for community development. vital early learning stage. Working with local Food Kitchen initia- tives and local leadership assists in Partnering with Embrace Movement providing direct food relief to the most for Mothers and Grow Great offers vulnerable in communities and pregnant women the nutritional stabili- rewards volunteers. ty they need for healthy development of their baby and their own health. The Community Care voucher initiative will provide a test case at scale in Cape Town of the first steps of unconditional cash transfer as response to the crisis and allow for a better understanding of whether vouchers can be used as a tool in long-term partnership as a possible ongoing reward for volunteer work or microjobs.

N 7

BONTEHEUWEL

N 2

MANENBERG GUGULETHU 24

HANOVER 18 PARK NYANGA

9

KHAYELITSHA

THE PROJECT OPERATES IN HARARE

8 NEIGHBOURHOODS ACROSS CAPE TOWN 44 KUYASA MONWABISI PARK KUYASA

310

Why vouchers?

At the beginning of the lock- families), its sourcing (local or not), the relief. To make redeeming the voucher risk and cost of distributing food convenient, the Community Care down period, social relief parcels. Food parcels also often bypass voucher can be spent at local spaza and efforts focused on food local markets as the products are house shops for goods sold there, sourced from outside the neighbour- although it is strongly associated with parcels to address the most hoods where the parcels are distribut- the ten ‘best buys’ of affordable, nutri- immediate food security ed. However, social relief efforts are not tious food (costing approximately limited to food parcels. The Communi- R300). needs, while more systemic ty Care voucher moves beyond food solutions were developed. parcels as it is done in this project in This allows choice and supports small partnership with DGMT, Kazang and businesses in the local economy, bene- Flash. fiting the local community and build- Nearly 1 million food parcels were ing social cohesion. provided by a number of organisations, The Community Care voucher, as a including the government.7 While this digital voucher, provides social relief commendable, there are issues with without the risks, logistics and costs food parcels – its content (high associated with distributing food carbohydrate and lacking perishable parcels. In a time-sensitive context, a goods), the amount (too little for large digital voucher provides immediate

1 Spaull et al. 2020. NIDS-CRAM Wave 2 Synthesis Working paper. National Income Dynamics Survey 6 Economic Development Partner- Findings. September. Working paper. Coronavirus Rapid Mobile Survey, Wave 1. Available: ship. 2020. Coordinating Food Relief during 2 NIDS-CRAM is the National Income Dynamics https://cramsurvey.org/reports/ Covid-19: Lessons from the NGO-Government Food Study - Coronavirus Rapid Mobile Survey. The survey 4 Solidarity Fund, 2020. Media Release: The Solidarity Relief Forum in the Western Cape, April – investigates the socioeconomic impacts of the Fund Update. 21 September. Available: https://soli- September 2020. October. Available: https://wcedp.- national lockdown associated with the State of darityfund.co.za/news-updates/ co.za/case-studies/#covid-19 Disaster declared in South Africa in March 2020, and 5 Cusick, S. & Georgieff, MK. The first 1,000 days of 7 Wills, G., Patel, L., van der Berg, S., Mpeta, B. 2020. the social and economic consequences of the global life: The brain’s window of opportunity. Available: Household resource flows and food poverty during Coronavirus pandemic. For more details, see https://www.unicef-irc.org/arti- South Africa’s lockdown: Short-term policy https://cramsurvey.org/ cle/958-the-first-1000-days-of-life-the-brains-windo implications for three channels of social protection. 3 Wills, G., Patel, L., van der Berg, S., Mpeta, B. 2020. w-of-opportunity.html#:~:text=The%20first%201%2C Working paper. National Income Dynamics Survey Household resource flows and food poverty during 000%20days%20of%20life%20%2D%20the%20time% Coronavirus Rapid Mobile Survey, Wave 1. Available: South Africa’s lockdown: Short-term policy 20spanning%20roughly,across%20the%20lifespan% https://cramsurvey.org/reports/ implications for three channels of social protection. 20are%20established.

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