Director, Bioregional South Africa
She started work with Bioregional on a volunteer basis in 1997 while still nursing, and worked with Sue Riddlestone on the MiniMills project in its infancy and subsequently, the Local Paper for London and Surrey schemes respectively, till 2003. Sarah did some environmental consultancy work in Cape Town in 1999 / 2000 and then back in the UK joined the One Planet Communities programme part time in 2005. Returning again to South Africa Sarah founded Bioregional South Africa in Durban in 2009 and is currently a Green Star accredited professional with the Green Building Council of South Africa.
In between some activism, such as running an anti-single use plastic bag campaign in her neighbourhood, and being a mother to two daughters, Sarah loves being an African again – camping, hiking, swimming in the sea and game viewing. Her current motto: ‘In every community, there is work to be done. In every nation, there are wounds to heal. In every heart, there is the power to do it.’
A classroom refurbishment project in Durban had a tight budget and sustainability ambitions – could it meet both? After fixing up the classrooms, phase 2 was all about the toilets, writes Bioregional South Africa's Sarah Alsen
A classroom refurbishment project in Durban, South Africa had a tight budget and sustainability ambitions – could it meet both? Sarah Alsen, our Bioregional South Africa representative, shares how creativity was essential