Development Workshop Switzerland

A partner for sustainable urban development
About us

Development Workshop Switzerland

A partner for sustainable urban development

(DWS) is a registered Switzerland NGO with a focus on sustainable urban development, informal settlements and the disadvantaged communities that reside in them. DWS works through partnership agreements with local authorities and in support of national development goals. It has four main programmes, focusing on land & housing, sanitation, early childhood education and urban infrastructure. Read more

Our Work

DWN is a partner for sustainable and inclusive urban development. We provide support to local authorities, align with government priorities, collaborate with private sector, engage with residents…
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Governance & Accountability

In each country the local DW organisation is established as a non-profit organisation. However, due to the different legal frameworks in each country, different types of legal entities were used to register the DW organisations.

Urbanization in Southern Africa

Across southern Africa, more and more people live in towns compared to rural areas. Most towns struggle to provide housing for rapidly growing populations. As a result, large percentages of urban residents only find housing in the informal sector.

Social enterprise approach

Scale and sustainability are considered fundamentally important indicators of success for our programmes; however achieving both the afore-mentioned with donor funding alone is not possible due to the fluctuating availability and size of donor funds.

DW Social Enterprise Approach

Measuring impact

One of the fundamental indicators of success of our programmes is answering the following question: How many people did we reach and how did we change their lives?

News, Publications & Events

DW Construction Manual

February 2023 | Publications

Construction Manual

Guide on sustainable construction techniques for Low-Cost Housing

DW Play for All

February 2023 | Publications

Play for All
Early childhood development for the best start in life

Children growing up in the slums (informal settlements) around the world are burdened with socio-economic challenges that traps them into poverty for decades to come. Play for All is an early childhood programme, supporting ECD centres (kindergartens) and families in southern Africa with an objective to provide the opportunity for every child to have the right start in life.

Here’s how you can help!

You can contribute to any of our programmes in Namibia or Zambia.