Community building and collaborative authoring are key features of the Siyavula business plan and sustainability model. These processes provide a superb opportunity to address the need for training within the teaching sector in South Africa. Through collaborative authoring Siyavula is driving a successful professional development programme for educators in South Africa that simultaneously strengthens communities of practice, improves IT-literacy and expands content knowledge. These skills are recognised using a badge system built on the Open Badge Infrastructure. I will cover the full scope of the community strategy, the assessment protocol for awarding of badges and the impact in the broader education sector.