Devastated town finds energy to rebuild itself

A remote Cederberg village steeped in the past looks set to become the town of the future.

Historic Wupperthal, all but destroyed a year ago in a raging wildfire that left more than half the town homeless, is turning into a case study in sustainable development.

“It is an opportunity for phoenix to rise out of the ashes – that is what we are looking at,” said Matt Stokes of Fruitful Futures, a company appointed to coordinate relief efforts on behalf of the Moravian Church, which established the town in the 1830s.

Fruitful Futures is poised to roll out a low-cost renewable energy project involving transforming waste into biogas.

“In light of the fire disaster, the idea is to make Wupperthal a case study for onward sustainability,” said Stokes.

The company had worked closely with the church to tackle “foundational” issues such as unemployment.

“We can rebuild Wupperthal exactly as it was but without the historic problems,” Stokes said. The core concept is to use animal and plant waste to create enough energy to power the town. In doing so, the project managers also hope to create jobs and drive other sustainable initiatives in the tourism and agricultural sectors.

Stokes said the project was awaiting funding from the Western Cape provincial government.

Fruitful Futures started working in Wupperthal before the December 30 fire, which destroyed most of the town’s historic buildings, including the parsonage, shops and 53 homes.

Wupperthal has since received generous support from numerous donors, notably the Rupert Foundation.

“For a rural community like this, the belief is that they can create a selfsustaining economy,” said Stokes. “It is kind of like every cloud has a silver lining.”