saam stories
Flour, fire and new beginnings:
a visit to tshepo
Marc Vogels and Tshepo CDI, Johannesburg
Text & photos: Caroline
In 2011, we met Marc at Zuurberg Mountain, where he was working and living with his family. We were travelling through South Africa with our children, who were around the same age as his. We spent some time there, and over the years, Facebook helped us stay in touch. Then, in 2026, our paths crossed again, this time in Johannesburg.
Marc, originally from Belgium and a chef by profession, has been living in Johannesburg for quite some time. Today, he shares his skills and experience through weekly baking workshops at Tshepo Community Development Initiative, an organisation supporting people experiencing homelessness as they work towards greater independence.
I joined Marc for one of his Wednesday workshops. On that particular afternoon, we were making apple pastries. There was flour on the tables, plenty to do with our hands, and an easy atmosphere in which people from different backgrounds came together around a shared activity.
Baking Together
Marc leads weekly workshops in which participants learn to bake bread and other bakery products. People from his own network are also invited to join, creating opportunities for encounters between visitors and members of the Tshepo community.
You don’t need baking experience to take part. If you are able to, you are encouraged to bring a small, practical gift for the community: a bar of soap, a can of soup, a scarf or another useful item. A donation to Tshepo is also welcome.
The idea is straightforward: spend an afternoon baking together, share skills and make time to connect. The workshop offers a natural way for people who might not otherwise meet to spend time alongside one another.
An Oven with a Purpose
At the heart of Marc’s workshops is a remarkable oven. It runs on very small quantities of waste wood, and its design allows much of the smoke to be burned again inside the combustion chamber. This makes it an efficient alternative to conventional wood-fired ovens, with very low smoke emissions.
For Marc, the oven represents more than a practical way to bake. He sees its potential to help people become more self-sufficient by making baking and small-scale food production accessible without relying on expensive fuel. His ambition is to introduce more of these ovens across South Africa, giving communities another tool to develop skills and create opportunities.
During my visit, the oven was busy turning the apple pastries golden brown. It was a simple, tangible demonstration of Marc’s approach: bringing together practical skills, resourcefulness and the opportunity to learn by doing.
From Support to Independence
Tshepo Community Development Initiative is part of U-turn Homeless Ministries, which works to support people experiencing homelessness through a structured, four-stage programme. The journey begins at a service centre, where people still living on the streets can access basic facilities. Those who enter the programme can then progress through four stages: rehabilitation, work readiness and, ultimately, independence.
The approach is about creating opportunities for people to rebuild their lives step by step. Alongside practical support, participants can work towards developing skills, confidence and the means to support themselves.
Walking around the Tshepo site, I could see how this ambition takes shape in everyday life.
Several entrepreneurs have established small businesses on the premises. One offers tree-felling services and sells the wood as firewood. There is a car wash, as well as a service specialising in cleaning sneakers. These businesses provide practical services while creating opportunities to earn an income and build experience.
There is also a small U-turn shop where donated clothing is sorted and suitable items are resold. Giving clothes a second life is part of a practical approach that connects reuse with opportunities for work and greater independence.
Each enterprise has its own purpose and customers, but they share a common thread: creating room for people to take the next step towards supporting themselves.
The Ingredients That Matter
What stayed with me after the visit was the combination of practical activity and human connection. Baking brings people around the same table, gives them something to learn and do together, and creates space for conversations to happen naturally.
The work at Tshepo extends far beyond a Wednesday afternoon in the kitchen. Through its programme, small businesses and everyday opportunities to develop skills, the organisation helps people work towards a more independent future.
For Marc, baking is one way to contribute to that process. An oven, a handful of discarded wood and a table full of pastry can become the starting point for something much bigger.
In Johannesburg, where the challenges of homelessness are part of the city’s wider reality, Tshepo is working to create opportunities for people to move forward, one step at a time.
Read more: Tshepo Community Development Initiative