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Hands-on hope paves the way to independence at UFS Community Engagement Learning Festival

24 October 2025 | Story Leonie Bolleurs | Photo Leonie Bolleurs

Skills Festival — Lutho Xamlashe – a third-year Bachelor of Administration student – from ACCESS, showing Bokamoso Makae how to crochet. Makae says she wants to learn as much as possible at the Learning Festival.

Held under the theme Building self-reliance, self-sufficiency, self-sustainable livelihoods for responsible societal futures, the Directorate Community Engagement at the University of the Free State’s Learning Festival this year created a space for lively interaction and practical learning. With about 150 people taking part each day, the atmosphere was alive with energy, a will to learn, and a real sense of people helping one another to live more independently and make the most of what they have.

Bishop Billyboy Ramahlele, Director of Community Engagement, captured the spirit of the event perfectly: “Self-reliance begins when we share what we know and use what we have. Together, we can transform communities from the ground up. With an unemployment rate of about 33,2%, and 40,1% of the population on social grants, the Learning Festival is a contribution towards helping individuals and communities make a shift from charity and unemployment to taking responsibility for their own sustainable livelihoods.”

“Self-reliance refers to the ability to depend on oneself for support and fulfilment, without relying on others. It involves acquiring knowledge and skills to access and use resources to make a living. On the other hand, self-sufficiency refers to the ability to meet one's own needs without external assistance. It involves the ability to provide for oneself in terms of food, shelter, and other necessities.”

From worm farming to furniture making, steel manufacturing, food security, herbal and cosmetic manufacturing, and even a Mend-a-Thon, participants gained hands-on experience in turning everyday resources into opportunities.

A celebration of practical learning

The line-up of workshops and demonstrations showed just how many ways there are to make the most of what we have. The ACCESS UFS student organisation led sessions on Worm Farming and Eco-Vernacular Architecture, teaching participants how to build with eco-bricks and run small-scale worm farms as income-generating projects.

Golukisa Trading Construction hosted a Furniture Manufacturing workshop, equipping local artisans with carpentry skills. These skills have already sparked success stories, such as that of Katlego Mpoihi, who launched his business after attending a previous learning festival.

Benjamin Nhlapo from Seotlong Agriculture and Hotel School in Phuthaditjhaba trained attendees about poultry farming, while Jurie Nel from JG Electronics introduced participants to printing, needlework, and bag manufacturing. Using state-of-the-art, yet affordable equipment, participants learned how to start small businesses through creative printing and design, inspiring a new generation of social entrepreneurs.

Thomas Tsintsing from The Engineered Movement shared skills on how to design and manufacture metal products, including fireplaces.

Another highlight was the Mend-a-Thon, facilitated by Doretha Jacobs from the Department of Sustainable Food Systems and Development and supported by ACCESS students. This session taught hand needlework, crochet, and denim repair, breathing new life into old clothes and celebrating the joy of making something by hand. Participants beamed with pride, many saying, “I can’t believe it. I made this myself!”

Innovation and inspiration

From presentations to hands-on demonstrations, the festival was full of fresh ideas and practical inspiration. Willem Ellis, Research Associate in the Centre for Gender and Africa Studies, explored how social innovation fuels community transformation through empathy, creativity, and collaboration. Matseliso Achilonu from Devoni Natural shared how herbs can be turned into market-ready cosmetics, proving that nature and business can grow hand in hand.

Nutrition also took centre stage, with Ermi Spies from the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics highlighting the important link between well-being and sustainable living. Honours students from the Department of Psychology presented their Well-being in Action infographics, promoting mental and social wellness in community spaces.

Thabo Olivier of Let’s Grow Food © captivated audiences with practical sessions on establishing sustainable food security through self-reliance, showing how small backyard gardens can feed families and help communities thrive together. Robert Mitchell, founder of Robs Handyman Services, demonstrated how wooden pallets can be repurposed into creative, sellable products – an inspiring example of social entrepreneurship in action.

The festival also featured exhibits such as Daniel Moloi’s Agape Foundation stall, showcasing the health benefits of rosehip juice, and the Itemoheleng Soy Project from Qwaqwa, which demonstrated soy-based food products for better nutrition. Meanwhile, the UFS Library Makerspace wowed visitors with robotics and creative design tools, inspiring a new wave of innovation.

And just when visitors thought they had seen it all, creativity took another turn. The stall of Corne Thomas from Puzzles of Impact showed how developing practical and life skills can help people find purpose and belonging by repurposing old videotapes into crochet items as a creative example.

The 2025 festival introduced a more interactive format than previous years, with more parallel workshops and matchmaking sessions between government departments, communities, and organisations. It was in these conversations and hands-on moments that the true impact of the festival came to life. One participant summed up the impact beautifully: “I have learned that my skills as a public speaker will change: from now on, my ‘voice’ will have an ‘invoice’.”

Empowering communities through knowledge and practical skills

Dr Karen Venter, Assistant Director and Head of Service Learning, added that the festival aligns with the broader goals of the Directorate for Community Engagement: “It perfectly mirrors the directorate’s mission to promote engaged scholarship and collaborative community development. By connecting the university’s academic expertise with local community needs, it fosters innovation, inclusivity, and sustainable impact, embodying the UFS’ commitment to social responsibility and partnership building.”

According to Dr Venter, the event left a lasting impact on participants and their communities. “Attendees left equipped – not just with new skills, but also with partnerships, ideas, and confidence to implement self-sustaining initiatives in their communities for socially responsible futures,” she says.

News Archive

UFS awards honorary doctorates during its centenary week

2004-10-07

The University of the Free State (UFS) will award 12 honorary doctorates on Thursday 14 October 2004 to a diverse group of outstanding South Africans and international experts.

This will be the last in a group of 18 honorary doctorates that the UFS will be awarding in its centenary year.

The awards comprise of a number of well-known language experts and writers, experts in higher education, first-time awards in community service and development studies, as well as music.

“This reflects quality and also diversity, a spectrum of convictions as well as the recognition of persons who played a major role in changing society in the last couple of decades, “ says Prof Frederick Fourie, Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the UFS.

The awards can be grouped in the following categories:

Language and literature:

Mr Karel Schoeman (D Litt (hc)) – well-known Afrikaans author and former student of the UFS. Some of the awards he has received include the Hertzog prize for prose (1970, 1986 and 1995), the CNA prize (1972 and 1994), the Old Mutual prize (1985 and 1991), the SABC prize for best television drama in 1990, the M Net book prize in 1997 and the State President award (former President Nelson Mandela: Order for Excellent Service – silver) in 1999. It is an honor for the UFS to have this gifted and creative person among its former students. This conferment is a fitting recognition of his status as leading South African writer.

Ms Antjie Krog (D Litt (hc)) – well-known South African poet and former student of the UFS. Her popularity as poet is evident in her piercing honesty and unequalled power of expression. Some of the awards she has received include the Eugéne Marais prize in 1973, the Rapport prize in 1987, the Hertzog prize in 1990 and the RAU prize in 2000. Her writing has been translated into seven languages. She has also received numerous honors for her involvement in and journalistic documentation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s (TRC) proceedings. It is therefore an exceptional privilege for her alma mater to honor her with an honorary doctorate.

Prof Jaap Steyn (D Litt (et phil) (hc)) – recently, Prof Steyn again distinguished himself as biographer whose thorough research is apparent in the published biographies of illustrious writers such as NP van Wyk Louw and MER. The numerous awards, among which the Stals prize from the South African Academy of Science and Art for the Van Wyk publication, are a matter of record. He conducted the research for this great prize-winning work as honorary professor at the UFS.

Prof Jakes Gerwel (D Phil (hc)) – Chancellor of the University of Rhodes and Director of Naspers, Old Mutual, Gold Fields and Brimstone. His doctoral thesis was published in The Netherlands under the title Literatuur en apartheid. Konsepsies van “gekleurdes” in die Afrikaanse roman tot 1948 (1983). He received an honorary doctorate from Clark College ( Atlanta), the City University of New York and Missouri in the USA, the University of the Western Cape, the University of Cape Town, the University of Natal, Rhodes University, the University of Stellenbosch and the University of the Witwatersrand. He is also outstanding professor in the Humanities at the University of the Western Cape, honorary professor in the Humanities at the University of Pretoria, and was the chairman of the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC).

Development Studies:

Dr Frederick van Zyl Slabbert (D Phil (hc)) – for his academic achievements, his endeavors for bringing about a peaceful transition in South Africa and his demonstration of the social investment role of the corporate sector. Dr Van Zyl Slabbert has received honorary degrees from the University of Natal and the Simon Fraser University in Canada. He has published seven books and various academic articles.

Community Service:

Prof Robert G Bringle (D Phil (hc)) – from the Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) in the USA. He is currently Chancellor’s Professor of Psychology and Philanthropic Studies at the IUPUI and also Director of the IUPUI’s Centre for Service Learning. He is honored for his exceptional contribution to several of the UFS’s community service projects as well as his role in the advancement of a multi- and inter-disciplinary approach to academic development and the integration of service learning within the faculties of the UFS. He has also made a valuable contribution to the conceptual framework of the UFS’s unique community service policy and more recently to the advancement of a research culture regarding community service.

Higher education:

Dr Khotso Mokhele (D Phil (hc)), President of the National Research Foundation (NRF) is honored for his contribution to the South African higher education sector. He has also made a substantial contribution to the development of the research capacity of universities and technikons in South Africa. Dr Mokhele was born in Bloemfontein and matriculated at the Moroka High School in Thaba Nchu.

Prof Saleem Badat (D Phil (hc)), the Chief Executive Officer of the Council on Higher Education (CHE). Prof Badat has devoted himself to transforming and building South African higher education, and has constantly challenged the higher education sector to retain the moral basis of higher education and tackle its challenges with intellectual honesty, ingenuity, creativity and courage. He is honored for his intellectual leadership in the development of a equitable, just and quality higher education system in South Africa.

Law:

Prof HA (Boelie) Wessels (D Legum (hc)) – for his contribution to the fields of Roman Law, Legal History at the UFS. He is currently a part-time lecturer at the UFS’s Faculty of Law.

Medicine:

Prof CJC Nel (D Phil (hc) Posthumous) – for the way in which he strived for the advancement of excellent medical education in the country. Prof Nel also did pioneering work in the field of transformation in higher education. Under his guidance the School of Medicine at the UFS became one of the first medical schools to adopt a parallel-medium system of instruction.

Music:

Prof Leo Quayle (D Mus (hc)) – for the significant contributions he has made to the development of music – not only in Bloemfontein, but also on national level and abroad. His initiative, enthusiasm and dedication contributed to the eventual founding of the Free State Musicon, as well as the first symphony orchestra and the first string quartet in Bloemfontein. Prof Quayle is a former head of the Department of Music at the UFS.

Prof Jack de Wet (D Mus (hc)) – well-known for his exceptional contribution to violin tuition in South Africa. As pedagogue of international stature, he still moulds violinists who compete at national and international level. At an advanced stage of his career, he still actively conveys his knowledge, experience and distinctive insight in his field of speciality to yet another new generation of young violin teachers. Today the symphony orchestras in Bloemfontein and Port Elizabeth also stand on the foundations laid by him.

Media release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Media Representative
Tel: (051) 401-2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl.stg@mail.uovs.ac.za
7 October 2004

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