Desmond D'Sa is Wentworth's own environmental terrier. For 13 years he has been a watchdog snapping at the heels of errant companies, particularly major oil refineries, who have polluted their way through decades of industrial expansion in south Durban.

Ironically, it was industry that made him what he is today. In the early 1990s he was appointed safety officer at Durban Fibres, a move that introduced him to "the horrors of chemicals", and subsequently set him on the environmental warpath.

"When I started off with issues of community consciousness, I was always told by industry bosses that they don't need people like me in this world," says D'Sa. "But I pursued my convictions, often going against a lot of advice, even my own family's. People said, 'You are taking on a giant, you're not going to win and you're going to be marginalised.' "But at the same time I've gained a lot of friends out there who are also concerned like me. I can take pride in what I'm doing. Together we can beat Goliath, and we can do it with a smile and respect."

His tireless campaigning over the years, more recently as chairman of the South Durban Community Environmental Alliance (SDCEA), has all been voluntary. He has been unemployed since 1999. "There have been times in the last five or six years when I haven't had money at home. But our tastes are simple, so we manage to survive," says the father of three daughters. Born in 1956 in Cato Manor, he spent his early years happily with his parents and 12 siblings on their 25-acre holding.

In 1966 they were forcibly removed to Wentworth, and it was only in 1974 that they were finally allocated an unsuitably sized council flat in which D'Sa has lived to this day. He began his working career in 1971 and spent 17 years in the textile industry after joining the Frame group in 1975. That was succeeded by his job at Durban Fibres before he moved to Sasol's Isipingo plant (which has since closed) where he remained until 1999.

In his last two jobs, D'Sa was a trade unionist and gained first-hand knowledge of the dangers chemicals present to workers and nearby residents. But D'Sa's real involvement in community affairs began 18 years ago with the advent of gangs in Wentworth. "Wentworth had a lot of social problems, especially with gangs, and it lacked credibility of leadership in the area in the sense that people didn't know who to go to, who to talk to. "We managed to turn that around by creating the first public forum meetings through the Wentworth Development Forum, where we had people coming to talk about their problems and working together to try to resolve those problems."

In 1996, SDCEA - an alliance of 14 community organisations from the Bluff, Isipingo, Umlazi, Wentworth and Merebank - was formed. "SDCEA are the true democrats of the South African flag, because, since forming, there has been more sharing of the bread among different race groups in south Durban than anywhere else I have come across," says D'Sa.

The group, which addresses environmental and human rights issues, has forged links in South Africa with organisations such as groundWork in Pietermaritzburg, SA Climate Action Network (fighting for cleaner technology), SA Exchange Programme for Environmental Justice and Earthlife Africa (dealing with water and nuclear issues). Its international allies include the Global Monitoring Alliance and Global Health Fund, both in the US, and Friends of the Earth in the UK.

D'Sa likens his work to a worldwide crusade, which in the last month has seen him confront the boards of Anglo-American, of which Mondi is a subsidiary, and Shell in London. Armed with a single share in each of the multinational companies, he challenged board members at their annual meetings of shareholders to address the "poor" environmental standards practised by them in south Durban.

In a previous visit to the UK last year, D'Sa joined forces with Friends of the Earth to protest outside Shell's London headquarters. "That was my biggest challenge so far. It was my first time in England, and it was raining and windy, and my umbrella ended up flying off into the Thames. "Usually I'm protected here by thousands of people when we protest, but only 15 of us were there, blocking employees inside the building until we were allowed to speak to management."

Closer to home, SDCEA is grappling with decisions taken by the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Agriculture and Environmental Affairs to allow a R150-million expansion at Engen and the construction of what D'Sa maintains is an incinerator at Mondi. He believes these two developments will exacerbate already high levels of ambient air pollution when other alternatives are available. "We are not anti-development, but we are anti-air-pollution. We welcome sustainable development," he says.

His extensive role in the community is evident from the number of people who wave at him as he drives his workhorse - an ageing Volvo reminiscent of Cuba's four-wheeled relics - from one meeting to another. He offers a simple reason for his unstinting community work: "I have a passion for the environment. I believe in a clean environment. I believe in leaving something for the present generation but more so for the future generation.

"These businessmen who exploit the environment are people who also live in communities, people with their own families. What are they thinking about leaving behind for their kids?"