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The Built Environment Support Group (BESG) was established in 1983 as an offshoot of the Faculty of Architecture and Town Planning at the University of Natal, Durban. In its early years, it was involved in defence campaigns in support of tenure rights for newly urbanised groups living in informal settlements.
In the early 1990s, it played an influential role as a civil society organ in shaping new town planning policies, and also participated at national level in the formulation of the new housing subsidy policy introduced in 1994. Since the new dispensation, BESG has concentrated on harnessing its core skills to provide institutional social development and technical support to poor and marginalised groups, in order that they can play an active role in the development of sustainable human settlements.
It has a strong pioneering tradition, which has led to the recognition and roll-out of many innovative projects and programmes, including: The first "People's Housing Process" pilot programme in KwaZulu-Natal, established in 1997 to empower households to meet their own housing needs on an incremental basis.
It has provided the context for a broad range of "added value" interventions, including tyre wall gardening to mitigate soil erosion and enhance household food security, block making, housing savings clubs, and a micro-finance scheme. The Community Based Maintenance and Environmental Management Programme (CBM), which provides infrastructure maintenance, solid waste collection, and associated environmental management services in newly, established townships.
The programme provides services to 4500 households, and supports jobs for 44 workers drawn from the recipient communities, the majority of whom are single women with no other means of income. Project and policy development support for children and households affected by HIV/AIDS.
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