Cape Town: The Biodiversity Management Department of the City of Cape Town held its annual Carbon-Smart Skills Development Programme graduation ceremony on Friday, May 22, 2026 on the occasion of International Biodiversity Day. Twenty-Three (23) women graduated at the Alphen Centre in Constantia.
The Carbon Smart Programme of the City of Cape Town aims to empower women from vulnerable communities through skills development and economic participation. It has successfully employed 47 women over its three years of existence and continues to grow.
Deputy Mayor and Member of the Mayoral Committee for Spatial Planning and Environment – Alderman Eddie Andrews congratulated all the graduates of this year. He stated that the Carbon-Smart Graduation Ceremony marks an important milestone in recognising the achievements of these ladies who have successfully completed the programme.
They have equipped them with critical skills to support sustainable and low-carbon development in the advancement of Carbon-Smart initiatives.
The Carbon-Smart Skills Development Programme was established to address environmental challenges linked to biomass waste and landfill pressures. It has evolved into a model example of how sustainability, innovation and community empowerment can work together to transform lives.
Considering this, Alderman Andrews gave an example of how this programme is changing lives. He narrated story of Gcobisa Ndabeni.
Gcobisa had been without a job for 13 years. She joined the City of Cape Town as a general worker via the EPWP jobseekers database and it completely changed her life. She went back to school. She can now support her family of seven. Her eldest daughter is in university as we speak and she is more determined to develop her skills.
Participants in the programme receive practical workplace exposure and technical training in green construction methods, manufacturing, environmental management, entrepreneurship, workplace readiness and computer literacy.
The programme also delivers tangible employment outcomes. For example:
- Five participants secured permanent employment outside the City
- One participant obtained permanent employment within the City of Cape Town
- Four internal promotions were achieved
- Six participants registered their own businesses
Carbon-Smart Skills Development Programme is managed by the Biodiversity Management Branch of the City of Cape Town within the Environmental Management Department. It mainly focuses on manufacturing Biomass-Recycled Insulated Concrete (BRIC); an innovative building material made using invasive alien tree biomass, cement and recyclable materials such as plastic and glass.
The Carbon-Smart team manufactures a range of products including desks, tables, coffee tables, paving, decorative items and building blocks while contributing to green infrastructure projects across the city.