Molepolole is a great community. But like many communities in Botswana, and across the Global South, it finds itself on the frontline of the climate crisis. Water scarcity, energy dependence, resource exploitation, pollution, and environmental destruction are challenges faced by communities throughout the developing world. But Molepolole hopes to turn its position from frontline community in the climate crisis into frontier community in the green transition. Molepolole Living Lab will advance this process.

At the heart of this journey is Kwena Heights School, a newly established academy that will teach the curriculum of the Living Lab and promote the SDGs. This will empower a new generation of experts in green technologies, entrepreneurship, and community-led development.

Alongside the school, the Living Lab will establish a green infrastructure package that includes a community-owned sewage treatment plant, biogas- and organic fertilizer production, solar and wind energy, and a regenerative farming program. Together with the school, this will put the town on the map as a beacon for others to learn from and emulate across Botswana and beyond.

In the first stage of funding for the Living Lab, Kwena Heights hopes to raise enough money to ensure the community’s ownership of the project. This will allow the school together with the town’s residents to qualify for credit to realize the full roll-out of all utilities.