Exploring smart communities in SA
While the concept of smart cities has been explored in academic literature and implemented by several countries around the world, the idea of smart communities has not been substantially explored in underdeveloped countries, which are still predominately rural.
This is according to the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research’s (CSIR) Chief Researcher in Information and Cybersecurity, Dr Jackie Phahlamohlaka, who conceptualised and edited the book, Approaches to Building a Smart Community: An Exploration through the Concept of the Digital Village.
Researchers from the CSIR and various South African universities recently launched the handbook, which provides practical approaches to building smart communities for underdeveloped and information-deprived communities in developing countries.
The book was commissioned by the Siyabuswa Educational
Improvement and Development Trust (Seidet), of which Phahlamohlaka is the founder and Board Chair. It contains unique recommendations informed by the researchers’ years of academic work and direct involvement in community development through the use of information and communications technology and architectural and engineeringtype experimental development work.
Since the advent of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), there has been a strong drive to establish smart cities. “This refers to reconfiguring urban areas into modern spaces that utilise different types of electronic methods and sensors to efficiently collect data and manage assets, resources and services.
“A smart community, on the other hand, advocates the building of an interconnected community that leverages smart technologies to benefit citizens, businesses and service organisations for economic growth, social benefits and environmental sustainability,” Phahlamohlaka explains.
The book features 10 chapters on the building of smart communities and the topics range from entrepreneurship training to digital ecosystems and smart infrastructure as the basis of a smart community. Twelve researchers collaborated on each chapter.
“The book is expected to help communities around the globe find a suitable approach to try themselves and, by doing so, find something that positively contributes to the quality of lives of people in those communities,” says Phahlamohlaka.
Inspiration behind the book
Another book edited by Phahlamohlaka, launched in 2008 and titled CommunityDriven Projects: Reflections on a Success Story, A case study of science education and information technology in South Africa, chronicled the success of Seidet.
In 2011, Phahlamohlaka started exploring the concept of a Seidet Digital Village and challenged his CSIR colleagues to see if possibilities existed for the Seidet Centre to be morphed into a smart community centre. Several papers were co-authored and published.
“I then realised that one approach based on the Seidet experience would not be enough to assist communities in developing countries. I identified other researchers who had done related work that qualified them to propose an approach to building a smart community that others could try, from a developing country’s point of view. This is how the [latest] book was conceptualised,” he says.
The book was also inspired by challenges posed by the 4IR.
“We are in a developing country and well-developed concepts such as smart cities only apply to a small proportion of our geographical spread. The bigger spread is made of
villages, townships and rural communities that also need to benefit from the digital revolution. There was good research work done by the contributors that needed to be implemented at community level,” says Phahlamohlaka.
To put the book together, he presented his high-level thoughts on what he hoped to achieve to the researchers. “I wanted a book that would latch onto their personal work. I want the readers to see for themselves that the approaches proposed are made by people with first-hand experience and interest. I selected the contributors based on these criteria and worked with each researcher to complete the chapters,” he explains.
Improving service delivery
The book is expected to add value to government programmes and departments, which can try various approaches to improve service delivery in communities.
“I believe some communities will be inspired into action to try one or more of the approaches proposed, and am hoping that when they do, the book will serve as a guide,” says Phahlamohlaka.
“The book plants the seed for collaboration with local government ... an observation from the Presidential National Commission on 4IR is that the concept of smart cities would best be implemented as smart communities in South Africa.”
The plan is to turn each of the chapters into a costed proposal and obtain funding to try the approaches.
Phahlamohlaka, from GaPhaahla Village in Siyabuswa,
Mpumalanga, completed his Master of Science in Computational and Applied Mathematics at Dalhousie University in Canada and a PhD in Information Technology at the University of Pretoria. He also completed the Executive National Security Programme at the South African National Defence College in 2007.
He is an Honorary Fellow of the Institute of Information
Technology Professionals of South Africa, a member of the South African National Committee for the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP), and represents South Africa in Technical Committee 9 of the IFIP.
To read the book’s preface or purchase a copy, visit https:// www.cambridgescholars.com/ product/978-1-5275-7 152-5
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There are a handful of wardrobe staples you should own – items that have longevity from one season to the next; one year to the next. If you can, save towards these high-quality items instead of falling for fast fashion trends. We promise, these will always be in fashion and will last you longer.
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A pair of Chuck Taylors? Yes, you heard right, these shoes have been around since 1917 and have proven to be versatile and are always on trend. Wear them casual or smart casual, Converse: R950.
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Invest in a beautiful leather bag, whether it’s a clutch or tote. They last forever and will smarten up anything you wear. We love this one from French designer Vanessa Bruno, vanessabruno.com: R7 600.
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The perfect white tee. Yes, it does exist. Together with the perfect, crisp white shirt, these are wardrobe must-haves. Keep it simple like these classics from Levi’s: R350.
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tablespoons of the yoghurt mixture, repeat until the mold is full.
• Place the mold in the freezer for two hours. When popsicles are slightly set, take it out of the freezer and insert popsicle sticks in the centre of each popsicle, this allows the sticks to firmly stay in place.
Freeze overnight and enjoy the next day.
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Ingredients:
• 12 rice paper wraps.
• 1 English cucumber ( julienned).
• 3 Carrots peeled (julienned).
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Instructions:
• Have your fillings laid out for assembly. In a shallow dish add warm water and soak one rice paper sheet at a time.
• Once the rice paper starts getting loose remove from the bowl and gently place it on a damp cutting board.
Arrange a thin layer of lettuce, followed by some avocado, mango in the
• 1 Red pepper (julienned). 1 Cup red cabbage (shredded).
1 Cup lettuce (shredded). 1 Avocado (thinly sliced). 1 Mango peeled (thinly sliced).
middle of the rice paper and add a small portion of peppers, carrots, cucumbers and top with red cabbage. • Fold rice paper over filling gently and tuck in the ends whilst slowly rolling it over until the seam is completely sealed. The rice paper will be very delicate and sticky so make sure you are careful during assembly.
Cut rolls in half once completed.
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Ingredients:
• 150g Plain Milk Chocolate.
• 6 Bananas cut in half.
• Popsicle Sticks.
Toppings:
• Chopped nuts.
• Sprinkles.
Instructions:
• Line a baking tray with baking paper. Put popsicle sticks in the cut end of the bananas and place on
baking tray.
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Place the tray in the freezer for 15 minutes, until the bananas are slightly frozen. Melt chocolate in the microwave and give it a quick stir to make sure it is completely melted.
Dip in bananas one at a time in the melted chocolate making sure the banana is covered in chocolate.
Place on baking tray and sprinkle topping of your choice.
Put baking tray back into the freezer for an additional 30 minutes until bananas are frozen.
* This is a good one to get the kiddies involved in the preparation.
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Ingredients:
• 1 cup pitted cherries.
• ½ cup chocolate chips.
• ¼ teaspoon mixed spice.
• 50g melted butter.
• ¼ cup honey.
• 2 ½ cups muesli.
Instructions:
• Line a baking tray with baking paper and set aside.
• Place chocolate chips, cherries, honey, mixed spices, butter and two cups of muesli in a food processor and blitz until mixed well.
• Place remaining muesli in a plate. Using a tablespoon, scoop muesli mixture and roll into a ball then roll in muesli in the plate and place on baking tray.
Repeat until mixture is finished then place in the fridge for 30 minutes.
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Ingredients:
• 7 cups watermelon cubed.
• 2 Tablespoons honey.
• 1 Lemon (squeezed).
Instructions:
• Place watermelon cubes that were frozen overnight into a blender, add in honey and lemon juice.
• Blend until smooth then strain through a sieve to remove any seeds and to have a nice smooth texture. • Serve with ice and enjoy.
There are some places you discover as you travel that you just know you will come back to – for us, it’s usually places where rest comes naturally.
Northern Kwa-Zulu Natal is a corner of South Africa that does not get nearly enough publicity. Many South African travellers live oblivious to the fact that this part of the country even exists as they habitually rebook their Garden Route, Ballito, Kruger and Hermanus holidays year after year. The region offers fauna and flora in abundance, pristine beaches, and an opportunity to soak up nature in all its glory.
In March 2022, we travelled north from the Dolphin Coast to Mtunzini, a small coastal village where much of the coastline forms part of a protected area called the Umlalazi Nature Reserve.
This lush, green strip with its coastal forests encompasses a beach, a lagoon, and beautifully preserved mangroves. The reserve is clean and includes boardwalks, campsites, chalets, ablutions and braai facilities.
Barging on the Umlalazi River is a common affair for locals and on such a river cruise, you can expect to see vibrant bird life. We also enjoyed a relaxing walk along the boardwalk through the mangrove forest and stopped every so often to observe the fiddler crabs and amphibious mudskippers. Remember to look up every now and then and you might spot a mangrove kingfisher.
The Raphia Palm Forest
The Raphia Palm Forest is a must visit. If you are lucky, you can see one of our country’s rarest birds of prey – the palm-nut vulture – feasting on the fruit of the Raphia palm tree. These trees are breathtaking. Not only are they massive and majestic, reaching up to 25 meters, but they are unique in that they produce fruit once every 20 years,
and then they die. We meandered through the forest and marveled at the gigantic palm leaves – some of the largest in the entire plant kingdom.
From Mtunzini, we made our way to St Lucia for a pit-stop before heading to the iSimangaliso Wetland Park to set up camp at Cape Vidal. In St Lucia, we stocked up on exportquality avocados and mangoes and popped in at the renowned Banana Box. The only way to describe this shop is that it is an ‘all-you-could-ever-want, find-whatever-you-don’t-reallyneed’ kind of general dealer.
But don’t underestimate it. We walked away with superb snorkel gear, a nifty flashlight, biltong, a massive bottle of
Know before you go:
hand sanitizer, and off we went to Cape Vidal.
We gave ourselves enough time to enjoy the drive through the park, driving all the various loops in search of animals and viewpoints. We did not really know what to expect of Cape Vidal apart from a reef for snorkelling and rumours about hyenas and monkeys that rule the camp site.
Visiting in the month of
March, we thought we might strike the campsite empty, so the thought of us versus the wild animals was daunting. To our surprise the campsite was bustling. In fact, it turns out that many of the sugar cane farmers in the Zululand area book a camping spot for a couple of months at a time. This allows them the freedom to make the most of good weather during the season. We stood out like a sore thumb with our basic camp setup and two-man tent. Many a camper (and by ‘camper’ we mean someone with a camping trailer that costs a small fortune, and possibly a boat) would walk past and feel sorry for us in our happy simplicity. We got gifted everything from firewood to freshly caught fish fillets for dinner.
Living in harmony with the wild animals
The wild animals were not just a rumour – during the day we kept everything locked away in the car (since we did not have a fancy camping trailer) and at night we zipped ourselves in our tent and listened as the hyenas came to feast on leftovers in the bins around the camping site. Thankfully they came, ate, and left, so going to the ablution at night was not dangerous, yet it somehow filled one with adrenalin. We snorkeled daily along the rock reef and the rest of our time was spent walking on the kilometres of deserted beach, reading, cooking on the campfire and, ultimately, finding rest for our souls in Zululand.
March is a great time to visit Mtunzini and Cape Vidal as the weather is warm and bearable. Mtunzini has many quaint restaurants and cafés – the Clay Oven has great pizzas and the Country Club offers good food from a diverse menu. You don't need a 4x4 to get to Cape Vidal, but if you want to visit surrounding spots such as Sodwana Bay or Mabibi Beach, a 4x4 is recommended. Take your time to drive through the park on your way to Cape Vidal. Pack a picnic basket, drive all the loops and keep your eyes open for game, stop at the viewpoints, and enjoy your picnic at one of the bird hides. Ask for a camp site as close to the beach as possible. Take all your food and other supplies such as fire wood as the little shop at Cape Vidal is limited.