The Kenosis Community

At the end of 1995 after my  retirement as Professor of Old Testament from the School of Theology, University of Natal I started the Kenosis Community, a training programme for black women wanting to work in the Lutheran Church. The old Lutheran parsonage of the Bishopstowe Lutheran Church was bought from the congregation and permission was obtained to use the existing church hall and the church for the courses.

Right from the beginning I included a course in organic gardening, working with the women in our community garden using permaculture principles, using rabbits and chicken for manure and no artificial fertilizers and insecticides.

The neighbouring property Gate E14 was bought in 1997/98 to accommodate teaching staff and sisters of the emerging Kenosis Community.

In 1998 a project was started for Aids orphans. Funding was obtained to build houses for foster mothers and orphaned children together with better accommodation for Kenosis staff. The Aids orphans project now has 3 foster mothers and 14 orphaned children. We built the houses ourselves, using compressed earth bricks and roof tiles manufactured by our staff. We were able to install solar heating only in one of the houses because there was not enough money. But all the houses were fitted with compost loos, an environmentally friendly design I heard of through the internet.

In 2001 the Community built a Creche with the assistance of two groups of volunteers from Germany. This was in response to a plea from farm workers in the Bishopstowe area that we should provide a facility because there was nothing available for children from farm labourers.

Presently this creche has two teachers and 55 children. The children are picked up by a Kenosis minibus in the morning and brought home again in the afternoon. The service to the community is heavily subsidized by Kenosis.

At the end of 2002 I retired as chaplain of the Kenosis Community in order to devote my time to the development of the new project. At the beginning of 2003 the Community bought a 52 acre property for guest houses and a retreat centre in order to generate some income. There are a number of houses already available that can be used as guest houses and can also be utilized but  most of them  are in a fairly run-down condition and substantial funds are needed to restore them.

The 52 acre property is severely degraded. A large section has been covered by American brambles.  My wife and I moved into a  cottage on the one corner of the property (Gate E 0) that was totally cut off by the brambles from the rest of the property. A path had to be cut through thick bramble bush to establish a connection.

I am now trying to rehabilitate the severely degraded land. I have contacted Working for Water and they have agreed to help me eradicate the brambles. But that is not enough. The plan is not to use it for commercial farming but to rehabilitate it with indigenous trees, shrubs and medicinal plants. We have started in one corner to remove brambles by hand and to replant the area with indigenous trees.