Our Location
Immersion SA is located in Tshani Village on the Wild Coast of South Africa, in an area formerly known under the apartheid government as the “Kingdom of Transkei”. This area now forms part of the Eastern Cape province.
The diverse Eastern Cape is situated between the Western Cape and KwaZulu Natal, and bordered by the Orange River and the Drakensberg Mountains. This area is the cultural homeland of the Xhosa people and the birthplace of South Africa’s “Father of Democracy”, Nelson Mandela.
Daily Life in Tshani Village
During your time with Immersion SA you will be supported by both a project manager and a volunteer manager. Core to the experience will be your involvement in grassroots projects and how this may challenge your assumptions about volunteering, community work and culture. You will become fully immersed in your designated projects, taking responsibility for your contribution which will form an integral part of the Transcape NGO upliftment programme.
Through such participation we have found that volunteers become woven into the fabric of their communities. More detailed descriptions of the various projects are provided elsewhere. Time will be set aside each day for you to study the Xhosa language and improve your communication skills. Discussing your community work will also provide you the opportunity to share your cultural experiences. These are important ways in which to connect with the realities of rural life and to better understand the different approaches which one can take to living, volunteering and working in communities. There are many outstanding and invigorating recreational activities available in the area, including surfing on one of the best waves in South Africa, kite surfing in the pristine estuary, kayaking up the meandering Mdumbi River, cycling footpaths through the local village, hiking along the rugged coastline and cliff jumping off the nearby caves. Lazier days can be spent getting a massage on the forest deck, lying in a hammock with an unprecedented view that you can only experience first hand, sunbathing on the endless white sandy beaches, reading a book, walking the road and chatting to locals or sipping on a drink as you raft up the river at sunset. Over the weekends you will be able to have adventures in other beautiful places along the Wild Coast.
Environmentally Sensitive Homestead
During your stay in Tshani Village, you will be living in a beautifully designed, low-impact, communal Xhosa homestead, built in the traditional Xhosa style. Words cannot do justice to the uninterrupted views from the green hills of Tshani over the Mdumbi River estuary and bay; waves rolling in from the horizon and lapping the white sands of a pristine beach, greeted by sunrise singeing the wisps of clouds over the ocean. At night the Milky Way and moon bathe the hills in shadows and mesmerise onlookers with a sense of wonder and perspective at the scale and beauty of the world. Your biggest concern may be the thought of one day not having this to say good night to or to awake to. In the evenings you can sit around the fire pit set amongst the huts on the homestead and talk with the fellow Immersion SA participants with whom you will be living communally and with local friends that you will get to know over your time in whilst living in Tshani village.
Each hut on the homestead is built in the traditional Xhosa style – a round building with a conical thatched roof. Your home and all its furniture are built from local materials. The communal living area affords you space to cook with gas, dine by candle light, lounge and read. Your homestead, and the village, are not connected to the power grid. Small solar panels will provide you with limited electricity by which to read or charge cameras, laptops and the like. Likewise, rain water is collect on the homestead for your use. A vegetable patch will colour your back garden. Hot bucket showers and long-drops complete a romantic, rustic and welcoming home for those who find this appealing.
Feed your hunger
Enjoy fresh crayfish, prawns, mussels and fish caught by the local fishermen daily. Local Tshani mothers will prepare meals for you in the evenings. Alternatively, you can join local families for meals in their homes. More traditional Western food is also available at the backpackers. Immersion SA will provide a variety of breakfasts, lunches and dinners throughout your stay.
FAQs
- Do I need to worry about malaria?
- Do you have an unanswered question?
- What if I can't afford it?
- Where your money goes?
- Can I create my own community project?
- What recreational activities are there?
- Is there hot water?
- Is there electricity?
- What is included?
- Do you accept people for periods less than 4 weeks?
Quotes
“If you don't like the way the world is, you change it. You have an obligation to change it. You just do it one step at a time.” – Marian Wright Edelman
“We have a hunger of the mind which asks for knowledge of all around us, and the more we gain, the more is our desire; the more we see, the more we are capable of seeing.” – Maria Mitchell
“The universe is transformation; our life is what our thoughts make it.” – Marcus Aurelius
“Never doubt that a small, group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” – Margaret Mead
“Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.” – Leo Tolstoy
“You cannot step twice into the same river, for other waters are continually flowing in.” – Heraclitus ca. 500 BC
“To exist is to change, to change is to mature, to mature is to go on creating oneself endlessly.” – Henri Bergson
“The first problem for all of us, men and women, is not to learn, but to unlearn.” –Gloria Steinem
“I cannot say whether things will get better if we change; what I can say is they must change if they are to get better.” - Georg C. Lichtenberg
“In times of change, learners inherit the Earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.” – Eric Hoffer
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