Our Story

Bulungula Incubator is located in one of the most rural parts of the Mbhashe municipality, which is one of the poorest in South Africa (according to latest census results).

When the BI founders first came to Nqileni village, where our work was launched in 2004, there was no road, access to healthcare, functioning schools, electricity, any kind of sanitation, or access to safe drinking water. 

Only a handful of people have ever succeeded in achieving their Matric certificate. Almost all adults were illiterate. For a livelihood, community members have been reliant on subsistence farming, government grants, and wage remittances from migrant workers.

The health of the population was compromised by the inaccessibility to health care, insufficient health knowledge, poor nutrition, poor water quality, HIV and cysticercosis. The BI conducted a local survey in which we found that 53% of households had lost at least one child to diarrhea, and 1 in 9 have lost 3 children or more, due to a lack of access to safe drinking water and any kind of sanitation..

The area epitomises the most acute poverty challenges of the country, and the globe at large. It became clear that the approach to developing vibrant and sustainable rural communities has to be a holistic one. There is no one single intervention, no ‘silver bullet’, that can enable a path out of poverty. 

Over time we have steadily built our interventions to span the spectrum of Pre-conception to Career, with four focus areas: Education, Health & Nutrition, Sustainable Livelihoods, and Vibrant Villages.