Gareth Haysom

Sustainability Institute, Stellenbosch, South Africa
Current Position: Programme Coordinator: Sustainable Agriculture Programme, Sustainability Institute, Stellenbosch
Academic Qualifications: Masters Degree in Philosophy, Sustainable Development and Planning, School of Public Management and Planning (Cum Laude), Stellenbosch University (2007)

National Diploma: Hotel Management, Hotel School, Technikon Witwatersrand (now University of Johannesburg), 1987 – 1989. Area of study: General Management, Labour Relations, Human Resource Management,

Gareth Haysom’s original training was in the hospitality industry. On leaving Spier in 2003, where he held the position of Managing Director of the Spier Leisure operation, Gareth Haysom worked on projects which include the DfID funded Pro Poor Tourism Pilot Project for Southern Africa, and for the Overseas Development Institute and PPT working on transformation oriented activities for the tourism industry on topics such a partnerships, procurement and corporate change.

Additional activities include work with the private sector assisting in development projects focussing of poverty alleviation and the links between this and conservation aims. Businesses where this work has taken place have been with organisations such as Ibo Island Safaris in the Quirimbas Archipelago in Northern Mozambique, with WildLife Adventures in Southern Africa, as well as support to other smaller tourism enterprises.

Gareth is also the programmes coordinator for the Sustainable Agriculture Programme at the Sustainability Institute, lecturing, commissioning research and overall project management of the programme. Other activities include managing research and formulation of initiatives to support Integrated and Sustainable Human Settlements within South Africa. This project, known as the Sustainable Communities Project, has been initiated by the Development Bank of Southern Africa, with the Sustainability Institute being a key strategic and knowledge generating partner.
 
The Sustainability Institute is an international living and learning centre located outside the South African university town of Stellenbosch. Surrounded by the breathtaking beauty of the Cape's towering mountains and rooted in an agricultural community needing to break free from its' racial past, the Sustainability Institute provides a space for people to explore an approach to creating a more equitable society that lives in a way that sustains rather than destroys the eco-system within which all society is embedded.

Founded in 1999, the Sustainability Institute provides residential accommodation for visiting writers, artists, activists, volunteers and scholars, and a learning space for participants in the Institute's various educational programmes.