The CARP Training

​​UKUPHILA NGOBUCIKO brings over 140 years of combined experience in community-based arts training. We train Community Arts Repair Practitioners, rooted in arts therapy principles, currently focusing on visual art, music, drama, applied arts, theatre and poetry to create safe spaces for emotional expression, psycho-social support, and holistic personal growth. This approach goes beyond teaching arts skills, fostering healing and empowerment through the arts.

We’ve developed a one-year Level 1-4 curriculum, ready for roll-out, to formalize this work. However, systemic barriers, including the transition from SETA to the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations (QCTO), have delayed approval. Despite this, we remain committed to addressing the critical need for accessible, skills-based arts therapy training.

In South Africa, arts therapy training is limited to Master’s degrees, primarily in Gauteng, making it inaccessible to most communities. Our program bridges this gap by preparing practitioners to provide essential arts-based care, comparable to auxiliary social work.

The training aims to create thousands of jobs with embedding arts skills and psycho-social support in underserved areas. By empowering local trainers and practitioners, our ripple-effect model ensures scalable impact.