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Alice Barlow Zambodla provides an overview of the
programme.
Who was involved in the design, development
and conceptualization of the course?
This Unisa accredited Short Learning Programme
was designed and developed by the Unisa College of Agriculture
and Environmental Science (UCAES) and the South African
Institute for Distance Education (Saide) together with
a number of other community development stakeholders
from various institutions (e.g. Agricultural Research
Council, Medical Research Council, University of KwaZulu-Natal)
with expertise in dealing with food security and nutrition
issues. The development of the programme was made possible
through donor funding provided by the WK Kellogg Foundation.
Why is this programme important, and who does
it target?
The Household Food Security Programme targets
existing community development workers, home-based carers
and other community workers and volunteers working within
communities who will be equipped to work closely with
identified vulnerable households and together facilitate
the changes required to become food-secure and break
the cycle of malnutrition and hunger.
The acquired skills will add value to and create synergies
with existing government and NGO interventions and initiatives
within those communities and balance the availability
of relevant support services to all role players to
ensure rural development.
What competences and skills will the students
acquire from this programme?
Students completing this programme will gain
knowledge, values and skills that will enable them to:
- Link relevant food security issues, concepts, food
related policies, strategies and programmes with a
household focus for improving food sovereignty and
food security.
- Utilize a range of facilitation and participatory
skills, to identify and mobilize households for improved
household food security.
- Assess communities for vulnerability to food insecurity
and planning of food and nutrition interventions.
- Observe and analyze natural resource management
systems with community members and make suggestions
for appropriate interventions.
- Devise a variety of ways and means of optimizing
food production and the use of various relevant value-adding
technologies and processes so as to encourage the
development of ideas for purposes of income generation
using surplus food and other available resources.
The programme is offered by UNISA as an accredited
1 year short learning programme set at NQF level 5,
and consists of six 12 credit modules (a total of 72
credits). For more detail see
Figure 1.
How is the programme delivered?
For purposes of ensuring programme sustainability
and the formation of synergistic networks and linkages
the programme implementation involves a collaborative
effort involving various stakeholders from government
departments and NGOs who work with programme staff.
The stakeholders participate in ensuring extensive community
sensitization and engagement to ensure that students
on the programme are adequately mentored as they conduct
their studies within their communities. To view the
programme learning model, see
Figure 2.
The programme is delivered mainly through print materials,
but supported by promoter-facilitated contact sessions
held every two weeks. Activities take place with participating
households in the communities who will be learning alongside
the students. Students also receive support in the form
of supplementary print resources, tutorial letters,
workbooks, telephone and SMS support.
Promoters have been given mini-notebooks with 3G cards
that they use for purposes of communication, as well
as information access and dissemination. A programme
website is being developed. It consists of a public
site that serves to provide information about the programme
but also has a private site for use by stakeholders
involved in the programme.
At present the programme is being piloted in the Eastern
Cape Province with about 150 students in six groups
situated in King William’s Town, Kwelerha, Mthatha
and Elliot. The present cohort of students comprise
a mix of community development workers, home-based carers,
community health workers/promoters, peer educators,
volunteer development workers and educators working
for Government Departments and NGOs on a variety of
social development interventions.
The programme is being closely monitored as it unfolds
both in the classroom and in the communities where the
students have started to work with vulnerable households.
How will the programme be assessed?
Assessment consists of both formative and summative
assessments consisting of assignments (formative assessment
= 40%) and community-based portfolio tasks (summative
assessment = 60%) that assess student competence. There
are no examinations.
What other benefits are there to doing this
course?
Apart from the fact that the skills acquired
will add value to existing community development initiatives
the programme modules are aligned with those in the
Unisa Department of Agriculture, Animal Health and Human
Ecology’s Human Ecology programme. Those students
who successfully complete the course can be granted
recognition of prior learning (RPL) access (for students
who normally would not qualify) into a learning pathway
for further tertiary studies in the Unisa College of
Agriculture and Environmental Science.
Associated programme costs
The cost for the entire course is R4 560 i.e. R760 per
module. Whilst the course is accredited as a UNISA short
learning programme and HEQF quality-assured it does
not attract government subsidy and is operated on a
non-profit basis. The fees generated are used to pay
for costs of learning materials and employing programme
promoters.
Limited resources are available to subsidise the fees
of needy students.
Who to contact for more information about the
programme
- Dr Alice Barlow-Zambodla
Project Leader (SAIDE)
Email: alicebz@saide.org.za
Tel: + 27 43 7366 721
Fax to email: +27 86 608 3904
- Mrs Fransa Ferreira
Programme Coordinator (Unisa)
Email: ferrefm@unisa.ac.za
Tel: +27 11 471 2143
Fax: +27 11 471 386
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