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Editor’s Note

The Hydraform story is a remarkable one – a story of

hard work, determination and the passion to succeed.

Beyond the success and hard work you will find in

these pages, I hope you will be inspired by the true

transformation and impact Hydraform has had on the

lives it has touched.

It is not often that a company can say it has truly

enabled and facilitated the empowerment of the people

with which it has worked. Not only has Hydraform been

an inspiring place where staff members have grown and

developed their careers, but it has also been a place

where we as individuals have had the honour of touching

the lives of others in a wholly positive and stimulating

manner.

Beyond these office walls, every single machine

Hydraform has manufactured and delivered has positively

impacted 20 to 30 lives. This is as true of those people

who gained invaluable skills using the machines to build

houses and other structures as it is of those who were the

beneficiaries of the buildings constructed.

It is also true of the entrepreneurs, builders, developers,

governments and international aid organisations that

have seen the potential of Hydraform’s simple yet highly

practical system as a vehicle for helping them or their

beneficiaries to realise their dreams.

People talk about sustainability but those of us who

work at Hydraform have been fortunate enough to have

seen it in action: taking soil from the ground, using it to

teach communities to make bricks out of it, creating jobs

(and possible careers), then building their own homes or

schools or hospitals.

My fondest memory is a trip to Nairobi where I visited

a children’s village called Nyumbani run by Sister Mary

Owens and occupied mostly by single mothers and

grandparents, each of whom ran a home comprising

six to eight children who would otherwise be abandoned

and alone.

We travelled for three hours on a dusty, pothole-filled

road and eventually I believed we were lost for there was

nothing around apart from bushveld and open land. We

turned off the road and seemed to be bundu-bashing to

nowhere when suddenly we came upon a most amazing

village, built entirely out of Hydraform blocks.

At the time of my visit there were approximately 50

houses already built by the people of Nyumbani village.

There was also a community hall, a clinic and a school,

and the local community had been trained to use the

Hydraform machines and were skilfully expanding their

village from an informal block yard off to one side of the

settlement.

Out of nothing, here was something so profoundly

touching and endearing – there was hope and love. This is

the true story of Hydraform: taking a simple blockmaking

machine and using it to give people skills, build homes

and create true empowerment.

An inspiring

journey

Watching this magazine come; together over the past couple of months

has been amazing. Sometimes we forget the journey we have walked and

how far we have come – and the opportunity to work on a project like this

reminds us of the successes and lessons learned along this journey.

Editor:

Nazlie Dickson |

nazlie@hydraform.com

Marketing:

Sarah Jefferys |

sarah@hydraform.com

Welmarie Bosman |

welmarieb@hydraform.com

Sub-Editor:

Narike Lintvelt

Designer:

Carla-Lee Lawrence

Publisher:

Brian Bakker |

brian@journos.co.za

CREDITS

Disclaimer:

Although every effort has been made to

ensure the accuracy of the information

and reports in this magazine, the editor,

publishers, printers and distributors do

not accept any responsibility whatsoever

for any errors or omissions or for any

effect therefrom. The views expressed by

correspondents are not necessarily those

of the editor or the publisher. All rights

reserved. No part of this publication may

be reproduced without written permission

from the publisher.

Nazlie Dickson

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6/18/13 11:39 AM