CORC Archives - Page 8 of 17

Jun 20

“We Build Ourselves” – FEDUP Permaculture Exchange 2014

By Yolande Hendler CORC, FEDUP, uTshani Fund No Comments

By Nozuko Fulani (on behalf of FEDUP)*

We are Siyazakha Savings Group. We are a group of 26 members and first started to meet in 2010 in Siyahlala informal settlement in Philippi, Cape Town, where I live. We decided to form the savings group when we got introduced to the Federation of the Urban Poor (FEDUP). It was during a time that we were stuck on private land and did not know how to start organising ourselves. The savings group was a good way for us to improve conditions for ourselves and for our settlement. We chose the name ‘Siyazakha’ because it means ‘to build ourselves’. The name was my idea – it reminds us that we are the only ones who can build our families and ourselves. This is why we save.

Visiting permaculture gardens at Makhaza Day Care Centre

Nozuko Fulani

Over the years we have been saving towards different things. Some savings are long term and others are short term. This winter, for example, we are saving for paraffin heaters. Every member is going to save R150 from which we want to buy 3 heaters every month. We use long-term savings for things like school uniforms and groceries. This is a strong support because we don’t have to worry about taking loans. At the moment we have 15 active members and many new members joining, especially older mamas who are the most energetic.

As a savings group we also have a permaculture garden in my yard. I helped to develop this garden after I became a permaculture trainer in 2013 through uTshani Fund and FEDUP. At this time FEDUP and uTshani Fund introduced Project Permaculture as a new income generation and skills programme into the Alliance. Project Permaculture taught us the skills we need to grow fruit and vegetables. By growing our own food and reselling it, the permaculture gardens help us to make sure that we have enough food and can even make an income. Many gardens are in crèches and day care centres. (Read this blog for more background on Project Permaculture.)

Mama Darkie from Makhaza hosts the first day of the exchange

Clearing the Grass

Preparing the Soil

Three of us from Siyazakha savings group decided to do a permaculture exchange at Masizame savings group in Makhaza (Cape Town) from 24-26 May 2014. We chose Masizame savings group because we heard that many members were no longer active. Mama Jim, Thembiso and I went around door-to-door and managed to collect 5 women from Masizame savings group for the exchange.

On the first day we explained that permaculture is about using all available materials and that there is no need to use chemicals or to buy anything. Permaculture believes that before you start with the garden you must design it and check up on things like rainfall and wind direction. Permaculture also uses the idea of mixing the vegetables we plant. This means that we plant onions and garlic next to spinach – because these plants chase away insects. It is also important to alternate the seeds between plants that grow above and below the ground.

On day two we went straight to the vegetable gardens at Makhaza Day Care Centre. As we were gardening I showed the women how to prepare the soil by using old grass called mulch and layering it with water and old food. This makes the soil fertile. We also cleaned some vegetable beds and replanted seedlings. We learnt by using what we can see and touch.

On the last day the women said that they were very excited because permaculture gardening is a method that they know from home. Through the permaculture exchange they could see how alive a savings group can be. If you see that something is happening and that a group is active, it is very motivating. The ladies were so excited that they collected some money to buy spinach, cabbage and herb seedlings for their own garden. They decided that now they wanted to meet as a savings group every Tuesday to catch up on the meetings they had missed.

*Photos taken by Nozuko Fulani, blog compiled by Yolande Hendler (on behalf of CORC)

Day Care Centre in Makhaza

Jun 19

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South Africa SDI visits CODI, Thailand

By Yolande Hendler CORC, FEDUP, ISN, uTshani Fund No Comments

By Walter Fieuw (on behalf of CORC and uTshani Fund) and Melanie Manuel (ISN and FEDUP)

Between 9 – 13 June, the South African SDI Alliance visited a public organisation in the Thai government called the Community Organisations Development Institute (CODI) under the supervision of the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security. The purpose of the exchange was to learn about the CODI experience in the institutionalisation of development finance and the creation of autonomous but recognised community organisations with the view of incorporating the lessons presented in this report in the development of a Cape Town city fund, with generous funding support from Comic Relief. We acknowledge with gratitude the guidance and organisation of the exchange by the Asian Coalition for Housing Rights.

Download the Exchange Report to learn more about the visit and its implications for institution building in South Africa.

When CODI was established in 2000, a survey report noted 63,796 community organizations nation-wide. Over the years, 42,199 organizations have cooperated with CODI along with 2,798 networks. Today over 4.6 million members participate directly and indirectly with CODI’s programmes (www.codi.co.th). Between 2003 and 2011, CODI’s slum upgrading programme Baan Mankong has delivered 874 projects at a value of US$147 million (average US$185,392 cost per project), benefitting 91,805 families previously living in slum conditions. 286 cities in 71 of the 77 provinces in Thailand are involved in this extensive urban and rural programme. The average repayment of these projects are 15 years, at an average of US$30 per month (depending on a number of variables). Communities have organised in independent cooperatives and savings schemes and the 2012 balance of these decentralised city fund accounts were US$7.8 million.

CODI employs more than 300 staff, of which more than 70% are field workers, working from eleven regional offices (up from five offices just one year ago) of 20 staff each serving 6-8 provinces per office. The headquarters in Bangkok, which employs 100 staff, consisting of a large financial accounting department, research and policy development, and technical support such as engineers, architects, surveyors, urban planners, and other built environment professionals.

This learning exchange was centred around Baan Mankong projects in urban areas. ‘Baan Mankong Program’ (BMK) was launched in 2003 with an aim to solve problems of settlements and human security for poor communities countrywide. The program requires cooperation among concerned parties including local communities, government agencies, and private organizations with CODI acting as program facilitator and budget administrator.

The Baan Mankong Program (meaning “Secure housing” in Thai) puts Thailand’s slum communities (and their community networks) at the center of a process of developing long-term, comprehensive solutions to problems of land and housing in Thai cities. CODI expressly attributes its ability to scale up to the networking that has been spurred between communities: “Baan Mankong has only been possible with the commitment by the central government to allow people to be the core actors and to decentralize the solution-finding process to cities and communities.” (www.codi.co.th).

Read more about the learning exchange by downloading the Exchange Report (5MB)

Jun 11

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Upgrading Flamingo Informal Settlement

By Yolande Hendler CORC, ISN, News No Comments

By Yolande Hendler (on behalf of CORC)

Tucked between Lansdowne’s industrial warehouses and timber depots lies Flamingo Crescent, an informal settlement situated on a street by the same name. On a walkabout through its smoke and dust-filled pathways, community leaders would tell you that Flamingo is home to about 450 people who reside in 104 structures. The entire settlement makes use of only 2 taps and 14 chemical toilets that are emptied three times a week. You would come across contained fires in tin-drums – because the absence of electricity means that fire is a central source for cooking and warmth. Most structures – consisting of old cardboard, zinc, timber and plastic pieces – are roughly situated around a broad u-shaped pathway that is intersected by smaller, narrow footpaths.

This picture is about to change as Flamingo community goes about upgrading its settlement. Since its first engagement with the Informal Settlement Network (ISN) in 2012, the community has been preparing for re-blocking and – in partnership with the City of Cape Town – is set to receive one-on-one water, sanitation and electricity services.

Aerial view of Flamingo

Fire is used for warmth and cooking

Mobilising the community

The community steering committee recounts how the first people arrived in Flamingo in 1992. Many had previously resided around the M5 motorway in Cape Town. Others had been living under Lansdowne Bridge. During the first meetings with the community, ISN introduced the ideas of informal settlement upgrading and re-blocking. It explained how communities could drive their own development processes through making savings contributions, joint planning and implementation. ISN representative, Terence Johnson, emphasises the importance of the community-led process, particularly in Flamingo, where “people had given up hope”.

“When we met with ISN it was the first time we got a partner to help us change our circumstances. After we linked up with ISN and CORC the community decided to elect a new steering committee so we could get better organised and get a better life for ourselves”

(Mark Solomons and Chirne Arnold, Steering Committee Members)

General community meeting in Flamingo

Savings, Exchanges

During a general community meeting the steering committee shared the ideas of upgrading and re-blocking with the community and explained that every community member needed to make a 20% contribution to their own re-blocked and upgraded structure. The community’s response was initially skeptical because they had expected to receive government-subsidized housing.

“But through going on exchanges the community slowly changed its mind. We saw examples of a re-blocked settlement with upgraded zinc aluminum structures in Sheffield Road and Mtshini Wam as well as the one-on-one services for every upgraded structure in Kuku Town”

(Chirne Arnold, Flamingo Steering Committee Member)

The community began saving in 2012 and to date has saved about R42 000. Each payment was made to the treasurer of the steering committee who recorded each transaction in the community savings book and counter signed the community member’s personal savings book. As the majority of Flamingo’s population is old and unemployed (50%) the collection of daily savings proved to be a challenge. Nevertheless,

“Some community members like Ouma Sarie have almost managed to save the entire amount. She started with one packet of cigarettes and sold each cigarette one by one. She has saved R860 to date and only has another R200 to go.”

(Elizabeth Rantoetse, Flamingo Steering Committee)

Other community members saved some money through working. Those that were not able to save anything are set to receive short-term employment during the construction process through the City’s Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP).

Flamingo Steering Committee and ISN Representatives. From front left to right: Melanie Manuel (ISN), Elizabeth Rantoetse, Jasmine Louw, Lenrika de Koker, Chirne Arnold, Terence Johnson (ISN), Mark Solomons

Community documented savings

Enumeration, Planning and Partnership

Flamingo’s enumeration took place in April 2012. Over a period of one week, community members, supported by the Alliance, gathered social and demographic data about their settlement. This enabled the community to gather information about Flamingo’s population, the number of structures and the exact extent of water and sanitation amenities. The enumeration also gathered details on the extent and spread of employment as well as the reasons for moving to Flamingo. During a planning studio with students from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) and CORC technical staff in 2013 the community surveyed the site, designed its re-blocked layout and verified its enumeration results. Later that year the community was joined by students from Worcester Polytechnic Institute (USA) who assisted in conceptualising plans for a crèche and a play park.

Flamingo is one of several pilot projects supported by the City as part of a broader commitment the City made in 2012 to support the upgrading of 22 partnership projects. For more background click here. Following the 2012 agreement, the City, Alliance and Flamingo community met in a number of partnership meetings. The enumeration acted as a powerful entry point to negotiating an improved layout and one-on-one service provision. So far, the main sewer lines have been laid and two clusters of structures have been cleared and are ready to be re-blocked. As implementation continues, Flamingo community continues on-site meetings with City officials to discuss details and project developments.

Auntie Marie, Flamingo community leader, reflects on the road thus far:

“If it wasn’t for ISN, I don’t know where we would be. Through ISN we were introduced to the City and we got a partnership. We started thinking, ‘Now something is going to happen’. Flamingo is going to be re-blocked!”

CORC will continue to document project developments in future posts.

City of Cape Town site meeting with steering committee

Ground markings for laying pipes

Earth works begin

First clusters are cleared. Preparation for paving central pathways.

First upgraded structure

Auntie Marie (Flamingo Community Leader) and Nkokheli Ncambele (ISN Regional Leader)

Jun 04

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Gauteng settlements install ‘Litres of Light’

By Yolande Hendler CORC, ISN No Comments

By Motebang Matsela and Yolande Hendler (on behalf of CORC)

Naledi informal settlement in Soweto, Johannesburg

Many informal settlement dwellers have no access to electricity and are forced to rely on open fires, gas and paraffin appliances or candles as sources of light, warmth and energy. The resulting frequency of fires that ravage informal settlement homes throughout South Africa is well known. Gauteng’s Informal Settlement Network (ISN) introduced an alternative lighting option to community members in Gauteng settlements together with a team from ‘Litre of Light‘ Switzerland, who visited Johannesburg from 5-12 April 2014.

‘Litre of Light’ offers an alternative source of light through installing a 2litre PET bottle – that is filled with purified water and bleach – onto the roof of a structure. The water inside the bottle refracts the sunlight during the day and creates the same light intensity as a 55-Watt light bulb. With the correct installation and materials a solar bottle can last up to 5 years. The ‘Litre of Light’ is assembled by using cheap, durable and readily available materials. This enables urban poor households to access an affordable, environmentally friendly, long-term alternative to electric light during the day.

Demonstrations on how to assemble the 'Litre of Light' bottle

A ‘Litre of Light’ team member demonstrates how to assemble the light

ISN representatives introduced the team from Liter of Light to community members in four Gauteng settlements: Kliptown and Naledi in Soweto (South West Johannesburg), Innesfree informal settlement in Sandton (North Johannesburg) and Holomisa informal settlement (East of Johannesburg). They had chosen these settlements because of the poor light conditions – many shacks do not have windows and those that do, only receive limited light due to the high density of structures in the settlement.

Over the week, the ‘Litre of Light’ team visited each settlement and workshopped community members on how to assemble the lights: a two litre plastic bottle is pushed through a steel sheet that serves as a metal lock to prevent the bottle from slipping. It is then embedded into a corrugated iron roof. A small part of the bottle is left outside while the rest of it protrudes into the room. After the initial demonstration community members proceeded to assemble their own lights. Each community installed a light in two structures. ISN community leaders are establishing the interest that was generated after this initial exchange – with a view to establishing how to move towards a broader vision of “candle-less settlements”.

The readily available materials and straightforward assembly process means that a majority of informal settlement households can install the light themselves. This also brings about a potential income-generation opportunity in the long term. Both ISN and the Litre of Light team hope to spread this alternative source of light, as a manner of improving livelihood opportunities for shack dwellers and minimising the risk of day-time shack fires.

A community member in Innesfree, Johannesburg assembles a ‘Litre of Light’ bottle

May 30

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2014 UCT – Europe Community Studio: Spatial Development Framework

By Yolande Hendler Academic, CORC, ISN No Comments

By Thandeka Tshabalala (on behalf of CORC)

Over the last four months Europe community members and Masters students of Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Cape Town (UCT) collaborated on a joint planning studio to address some of the community’s most pressing concerns. Together, they began by conducting a site analysis and researching the opportunities and constraints presented in Europe. This research and site analysis led to developing concepts for in-situ, incremental upgrading projects. Read more about the concepts and the first developments of the studio here. The students then split into three groups and used these concepts to produce spatial development frameworks (SDFs), which act as a guiding document on the future development of Europe and surrounds.

Together with Europe residents the students recently presented their proposed SDF’s to their classmates and to City of Cape Town officials. All three SDF’s had underlining themes, which were

1) Maximising the use of existing infrastructure

2) Developing activity nodes linked to existing major business and transport nodes whilst maintaining the transit character of the main spine (Klipfontein Road)

3) Increasing socio economic opportunities in Europe.

These proposals fittingly introduced the concept of incremental settlement upgrading.

The SDF in summary

1. Creating cultural and ecological nodes

The site analysis revealed the presence of several aquifers and wetlands on the site and along Klipfontein Road. In order to protect and enhance Europe’s scenery this natural biodiversity could be joined with pedestrian routes to attract different users to the site.
The area around Europe contains several sites of recent South African history that could increase the area’s potential as a cultural node. By connecting to sites such as the Gugulethu Memorial 7 and cemetery and cultural tours to the Cape Flats, residents could increase their access to economic opportunities.

2. Property sales

Although residents in Europe do not have tenure security, Europe’s leadership has recorded an enormous amount of property transfer in the settlement due to the high demand for well located affordable housing. During a transaction, the leadership keeps certified identity documents of both parties. These serve as a proof of sale of one’s property. Even in their derelict state most shacks have sold between R10 000 to R15 000.
Through their engagement, the students picked up on the importance of location – in terms of one’s own shack and in terms of the settlement location as a whole. They therefore introduced the concept of re-blocking as an incremental approach to housing which would decrease the level of flooding, open spaces for the provision of basic services, communal spaces and spaces of interaction. Moreover, it would improve the quality of life in the whole settlement.
Many groups viewed re-blocking as a short-term strategy that could be implemented easily without displacing people. It would also provide residents with the opportunity to access short-term housing structures.

3. Creating activity nodes

The Cape Town SDF sets out a hierarchy of different movement routes across the metropolitan area. It focuses on North – South and East – West accessibility. Europe’s location between an urban freeway (N2) and a development route (Klipfontein RD) means that Klipfontein Road presents a greater potential for activity nodes than the impenetrable N2.
Heideveld station also provides a critical link between the road and rail network, making this an important node for future development.
The analysis uncovered that the Golden Arrow bus route bypasses an important section of Klipfontein Road. This means that the residents of Europe and surrounds, who are already earn a low-income, need to pay for additional taxi transport to reach the closest bus and train station. Some residents also use the local transport ‘Amaphela ‘ due to the area’s high crime levels, which make walking unsafe.
As a MyCiti bus station will soon be implemented in Mitchell’s Plain, the intersection between Bocherds Quarry and Klipfontein Roads will in all likelihood grow as a transit node. It therefore has potential to develop into a transport interchange with supporting activities.

Throughout this discussion it was crucial to see Europe as a functional settlement in its own terms and thus limit the distance travelled to access jobs and other socio –economic opportunities.

4. Maximising existing neighbouring corridors

Much developmental activity has focussed on improving upcoming North-South corridors such as Parklands and Mitchell’s Plain. There is a need therefore to establish linkages to upcoming opportunities.
There is also a need to increase vertical connections to the settlement such as access to Voortrekker Road, which is one of the busiest roads connecting Bellville and Cape Town.

5. Short term interventions – livelihoods and food security

After several discussions with the community, the importance of access to employment and food security was clear. Residents felt that they needed to be able to support their households in order for them to start looking at broader issues such as upgrading.
After this discussion the community came together and collected their names and livelihood interests on a piece of paper. Those with common interests were then grouped together to begin discussing how they could start livelihoods programs. These included hair dressing, carpentry, gardening etc. The students put together a pamphlet in isiXhosa with a list of organisations that assist in skills development such as Abalimi Basekhaya and The Carpentry Shop.

In the next phase of the studio the students will develop precinct designs of the settlement and write a short reflection of the studio as a whole.

May 20

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Designing with Communities: CPUT – Manenberg Studio 2014

By Yolande Hendler CORC, ISN, News No Comments

By Yolande Hendler (on behalf of CORC)

Manenberg community leaders and architectural students from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) recently collaborated on a six-week long planning studio in Cape Town (March-May 2014). The studio aimed to generate ideas around alternative housing design and delivery options that would address the needs of Manenberg residents within their existing challenges and ‘urban’ conditions.

CPUT students with Manenberg community leaders Terence Johnson, Melanie Manuel, Na-eema Schwartz & Errol Snippers (left to right)

Manenberg

Manenberg was established in 1966, during a time of forced removals when the apartheid government relocated low-income coloured families from District Six and other parts of the city to an area known as the Cape Flats, 20km away from Cape Town city centre. During Manenberg’s construction phase in the late 1960s it was classified as a ‘sub-economic housing development area’. Although the design and structures of these semi-detached houses and project-like flats differed, this term indicates that most did not have ceilings, inside water or doors to their rooms (Reference). As construction continued into the mid 1980s, other buildings and social amenities sprang up. Many people currently live in backyard dwellings. Along with experiencing overcrowded living conditions Manenberg’s communities are continuously exposed to high crime and gangsterism.

The studio brought together about 40 students from CPUT’s Department of Architectural Technology and Manenberg community leaders who represented the Manenberg Slum Dwellers, the Movement for Change, the Backyarders Network, the Federation of the Urban Poor (FEDUP) and the Informal Settlement Network (ISN). The studio was facilitated by ISN and supported by the technical team of the Community Organisation Resource Centre (CORC). For more background on ISN-affiliated communities in Manenberg and backyard dwellings click here.

ISN representative and Manenberg community leader, Melanie Manuel, explained that the studio offered an opportunity for Manenberg residents to come up with a better proposal to address overcrowded conditions and inadequate basic services. For the students the studio offered valuable exposure to inclusive planning practice. They were tasked to assist the community in the design and planning of housing and the related community ‘place’ layout. This required students to work closely alongside community leaders to explore innovative and relevant concepts that would generate flexible solutions. Mizan Rambhoros, Senior Lecturer at CPUT, explained that

“Traditionally, architectural students work on hypothetical projects. This makes working with a community in a studio and involving a community in the design process a completely different scenario. In a ‘live’ project it’s not possible to follow a rigid process – this really opened the student’s eyes.”

Sharing planning concepts with community leaders

The studio began with a site visit to Manenberg in which community leaders highlighted their primary concerns to the students – recurring floods, fires and security issues. Together, they identified the site they would engage with – the block between Red River Street and Red River Walk that experiences a high prevalence of crime and overcrowding. Students continued to meet with community leaders on a weekly basis, altering and adjusting their housing design and concepts according to the communities’ feedback.

“By working together with the students we could share our experiences and give them more in-depth input on what would work and what wouldn’t – especially because they were honest and open to criticism”

(Melanie Manuel, Manenberg community leader and ISN representative)

‘Incremental Growth’ and Final Presentations

On 9 May, the students presented their final design and concepts. Each group presented their understanding of the contextual and conceptual issues they encountered, designs of a detailed layout and a model of proposed housing units. The idea of ‘incremental growth’ presented a common strand through all presentations. Several groups highlighted how external circumstances influence mind-sets and subsequently how people interact with each other. This caused them to ask: how can space facilitate a change in mind-set and interaction with people?”

In responding to the presentations, Na-eema Schwartz from the Manenberg Backyarders Network, commended the students for addressing aspects that were highly relevant to community members – such as idle time and space, fire, flooding and security. In reflecting on the studio, Errol Snippers (Manenberg’s Movement for Change) shared his experience:

“These youngsters have opened my eyes to the way I look at buildings and safety features. Maybe they’ve learnt from us, but I’ve learnt from them too. In this short time we’ve gotten to know each other. I love their passion and drive and would love the kids in Manenberg to have the same passion”

Errol Snippers (Manenberg Movement for Change)

By the end of the studio it was evident that ‘incremental growth’ was not only reflected in architectural concepts and designs. Even more so it was reflected in both community leaders’ and students’ reflections.

“The studio presented our first opportunity to work on a ‘live’ project in which we needed to feed back our ideas to the community and think about what would be relevant to them. At the beginning, some of us had quite a stereotyped mind-set. Working together with community leaders in the studio was a learning curve for us all. We now design and accommodate for people’s social situations because we understand them. How do you design with communities? You have to become ‘part’ them”

(Nomfundo Dlamini, CPUT student)

The next step will see community leaders share the students’ work with the rest of their communities and establish how to use and implement the concepts and design. Such community-based, participatory planning practices contribute to harnessing local knowledge and packaging it into an action plan. In this way communities become key agents in their own development plans.

May 15

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National Community Exchange – Durban to Cape Town (Part 2)

By Yolande Hendler CORC, iKhayalami, ISN No Comments

By Yolande Hendler (on behalf of CORC)

A four-day community exchange was underway from 29 April to 2 May 2014, during which community leaders from Durban visited informal settlements in and around Cape Town. This blog continues to trace the experiences and reflections collected on the exchange, the first two days of which have been recorded here.

Day 3 in Langrug informal settlement – Sanitation, Drainage and ‘Greening’

View of Langrug informal settlement, Franschoek

Located in the affluent wine-farming area of Franschoek, Langrug informal settlement, home to about 4500 people, is characterised by extreme poverty, poor housing and sanitation. In the face of these challenges the community signed a precedent-setting Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the locally presiding Stellenbosch Municipality that channelled government funds to community-based upgrading initiatives. This translated into relocating 16 families, the construction of a second access road, the construction of grey-water and drainage channels and a community designed, multi-purpose Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WaSH) Facility. The facility includes a communal homework area for children, a hair salon, benches and laundry basins. Click here for a comprehensive profile of Langrug. Currently, Langrug is involved in the second phase of upgrading: ‘greening’ the existing WaSH facility with vertical vegetable gardens and developing a dry sanitation facility in Zwelitsha, an ‘informal’ section of Langrug without taps and toilets.

Existing WaSH Facility after ‘greening’

KZN visitors taste Langrug’s spinach

The exchange visitors were introduced to all these aspects on a detailed walk-about. Langrug community member, Alfred Ratana, indicated the differences in depth and purpose of the drainage and grey water channels and explained the processes accompanying relocation. He emphasised the uniqueness of Langrug in that it was a municipality-driven project which was not community financed.

“Langrug shows that municipalities can have a different approach to communities. Our experience shows that municipalities can include us in their plans and construct with us – not for us”

(Alfred Ratana, Langrug community member)

Langrug community member, Alfred Ratana, speaks about Langrug’s grey water drainage

Viewing a community-constructed drainage channel

Langrug community members also explained the breakthrough presented by Zwelitsha’s dry sanitation facility: due to its location on a steep mountain slope it has been impossible to provide water and sanitation services to around 600 families. The dry sanitation facility, however, is a step towards changing this. The vertical vegetable gardens in Langrug’s existing WaSH facility (developed in partnership with Touching the Earth Lightly) showed the visitors how the community secures food and generates income. By selling the spinach it grows, the community intends to generate income to sustain daily running costs of the facility.

The visitors were also impressed by a crèche facility that had been established between external partners and mothers in Langrug who wanted to provide an alternative, more affordable option for their children. The teachers of the crèche explained that,

“getting something started is not about presenting an idea to social services. You just need to start. Once the idea is happening, you can take the outcome to social services and get it registered”.

Once back at the WaSH facility Langrug’s steering committee shared details around the developments in their settlement. The group was also joined by Diana Mitlin and visiting colleagues from Manchester University. Read about their impressions here.

Sharing impressions after the walkabout

Langrug’s steering committee explains the steps it took in the upgrading process

Day 4 in Mtshini Wam – Reflections on how to continue

The final visit to Mtshini Wam showed the visitors what a large-scale re-blocking project could look like. During upgrading, the settlement also received one on one services, some in-structure toilets and public water points. More details on Mtshini Wam’s re-blocking are documented here.

Over four days the group had seen much, listened intently, exchanged questions and pondered how to take these impressions back home. Some key points:

Visiting Langrug presented a highlight for the visitors from Durban as the topography and accompanying challenges (steep inclines, drainage and flooding) are similar to the conditions in their own settlements.
Langrug’s drainage and sanitation facilities therefore presented relevant options for the Durban visitors
The visitors were inspired by the initiative and commitment they encountered in their fellow community leaders, something they wanted to take back in responding to circumstances in their own settlements
The exchange highlighted the importance of partnerships and the ever-present opportunity to form partnerships as a foundation for wielding large scale change

A street view of Mtshini Wam after re-blocking

KZN leaders in conversation about securing service provision

Durban’s Kenville and Foreman Road settlements will share their experiences of the exchange in mass meetings with their communities this weekend (16-18 May). Their next steps are to enumerate their settlements and establish a relationship with their councillors.

As the visitors embarked on the journey home, ISN community leader, Nkokheli Ncambele, reminded them that

“it is important not to impose everything you have seen on this exchange on your communities at home. Rather take what you have learnt and present it to the community as a suggestion. Then you can decide together what you want and how to make it work in your own settlement”

Exchanges certainly are the most important learning vehicle in the South African Alliance. They facilitate the direct exchange of information, experience and skills, thereby building a horizontal platform for learning between urban poor communities. Through sharing successes and failures in projects, giving and receiving advice on engaging government, sharing in work and life experiences and exchanging tactics and plans communities become central actors.

May 09

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National Community Exchange – Durban to Cape Town (Part 1)

By Yolande Hendler CORC, iKhayalami, ISN No Comments

By Yolande Hendler (on behalf of CORC)

Informal settlement leaders from Kenville and Foreman Road in Durban are mobilising their communities to upgrade their settlements with better services and improved spatial layouts. Last week’s exchange to Cape Town (29 April – 2 May 2014) therefore presented a first-hand opportunity for them to draw insights from fellow community leaders.

Group picture in Kuku Town: Durban and Cape Town communities on exchange

Over the week the Durban visitors were hosted by Kuku Town, Flamingo Crescent, Langrug & Mtshini Wam communities in and around Cape Town. Each day was dedicated to an in-depth visit of each settlement. This included a detailed site visit, discussions on collecting savings, enumerating and profiling settlements and contributing to planning and mapping. Besides bringing leaders together on a national level, the exchange also connected communities locally: for leaders from Kuku Town, Flamingo and Langrug the exchange comprised a first time visit to the other settlements. Exchanges are thus the most important learning vehicle in the South African Alliance, facilitating the direct exchange of information, experience and skills between urban poor communities.

Introductions and briefing on the week ahead at CORC office in Mowbray

Day one in Kuku Town: Upgrading & Savings

Community leaders met in Kuku Town, a small settlement that recently completed re-blocking and in the process secured one-on-one water and sanitation services from the City of Cape Town. Read more about Kuku Town and re-blocking here. In the discussion community leaders took the visitors through a step-by-step picture of Kuku Town’s experiences. ISN representative, Melanie Manuel, explained that

“What we do in ISN is not only to beautify our settlements but to actually change the way we live. Savings and partnerships – like we had with Habitat for Humanity and the municipality – are an important part of this.”

Community leaders share their experiences around organising and upgrading in Kuku Town community hall

Yet, before partnerships can be formed, a community needs to know its settlement in terms of the number of (un)emloyed people, the number of structures and families and details on service provision (electricity, sanitation and water). This information is collected in enumerations. Kuku Town community used its enumeration data to plan its re-blocked layout and to negotiate the provision of one-on-one services and short-term employment opportunities through the City’s Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP). Community leaders explained that they organised themselves in clusters to be able to navigate the logistics around communication and construction during re-blocking.

Among a variety of questions, the visitors took special interest in understanding the connection between savings and upgrading, especially the role of community contributions. Melanie explained that

“Savings contributions enable us as communities to take ownership and responsibility of the changes and upgrading in our settlements. We want to move away from a ‘free for all mindset’ and restore dignity and pride to our communities”

Melanie Manuel, ISN representative

But collecting savings poses a continuous challenge. How to go about motivating communities and responding to accusations? Flamingo Crescent’s community leader, Auntie Marie, shared her experience:

“Getting the community’s commitment for daily savings is difficult. People only want to act when they see that things are happening. You’ve got to be tough. If you’re not tough you won’t get anything right”

For Kuku Town community leader, Verona Joseph, the partnership with the City and its support in this regard, was crucial. This became evident at Kuku Town’s official handover that afternoon which was attended by the ward councillor and City officials. The handover and a site visit completed the first day of the exchange, demonstrating what a tangible community-government partnership can look like.

Exchange communities join Kuku Town handover ceremony

Inspecting the water and sanitation services provided by the City

Kuku Town site visit: inspecting water and sanitation services provided by the City

Day two in Flamingo Crescent: Re-blocking and Partnerships

Flamingo Crescent is about to begin re-blocking and – in partnership with the City of Cape Town – is set to receive one-on-one services. On a walkabout through the smoke and dust-filled pathways community leaders received a thorough impression of the settlement’s layout. Most structures – consisting of old cardboard, zinc, timber and plastic pieces – are situated around a broad, u-shaped pathway that is intersected by smaller, narrow footpaths. Flamingo’s population of about 450 people resides in 104 structures. The entire settlement makes use of only 2 taps and 14 chemical toilets that are emptied three times a week. The absence of electricity means that fire is used as a central source for cooking and warmth.

Flamingo – view from above

Site visit in Flamingo

In a nearby community hall, Flamingo’s steering committee explained its relationship with ISN and the challenge of collecting savings contributions due to its high unemployment rate (50%). Flamingo’s enumeration acted as a powerful entry point to negotiating an improved layout and service provision with the City of Cape Town. Together with students from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology and Worcester Polytechnic Institute (USA) the community designed the re-blocked layout and conceptualised plans for a crèche and a play park. Later, the visitors joined the steering committee’s meeting with a Cape Town City official who provided an update on the City’s contribution to upgrading. For the visitors this was of particular value as it emphasised the crucial role of partnerships and the number of actors involved in a given project. The question at the forefront of many minds was: how can we do this in our communities at home?

For Auntie Marie, Flamingo community leader, it is evident that

“If it wasn’t for ISN, I don’t know where we would be. Through ISN we were introduced to the City and we got a partnership. We started thinking, ‘Now something is going to happen’. Flamingo is going to be re-blocked!”

Continue reading Part 2 of the exchange here.

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Flamingo steering committee presents its partnerships

Auntie Marie, Leader of Flamingo Community and Steering Committee

Report back to Flamingo Community

May 06

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Official Handover of Kuku Town Re-blocking

By Yolande Hendler CORC, ISN, News, uTshani Fund No Comments

By Walter Fieuw and Yolande Hendler (on behalf of CORC)

Kuku Town before re-blocking

Kuku Town after re-blocking

There is a growing recognition that services need to be delivered to informal settlements in new ways. Such new approaches should aim at building community capacity through participatory planning, design and service implementation. Informal settlements are characterised by very different shapes and sizes, ranging from smaller inner city settlements located in residential neighborhoods to large sprawling settlements on the periphery of cities. Different approaches are needed to effectively transform these settlements into more dignified living spaces. Working with communities is paramount to succeeding in upgrading initiatives. The re-blocking of Kuku Town is an example of an alternative approach to thinking through aspects of place, safety and security through improved settlement layouts, and better located services.

The South African Alliance and Kuku Town community celebrated the official completion of re-blocking on 29 April 2014. Community leaders welcomed delegates from ISN and FEDUP, NGOs such as CORC, iKhayalami and Habitat for Humanity South Africa (HFHSA), City of Cape Town officials from the Department of Human Settlements and the Councillor of Ward 32, Cllr. Derrick America to the hand over last Tuesday.

ISN & FEDUP co-ordinators speak at handover

Verona Joseph, Kuku Town community leader, opened the ceremony by welcoming guests and sharing some of Kuku Town’s history and the process of community mobilisation. Diverse partners involved in the upgrading process held a variety of speeches that gave thanks, recognised and acknowledged the community’s achievement after three years of negotiations and preparations. ISN and FEDUP community representatives, Mzwanele Zulu & Thozama Nomnga, voiced the importance of continuing the relationships and partnerships, beyond the completion of re-blocking. Cllr America echoed this sentiment and emphasised that upgrading a settlement is about restoring dignity. Every community member received a personalised ID card containing demographic information – a symbol of having taken one step closer to reaching security of tenure. The ceremony therefore marked an important milestone for the community, who founded the settlement in 1985.

Cllr Derrick America (right) hands over ID card to community leader Verona Joseph (centre) with Salisha Lauton (left, Habitat for Humanity SA)

In the meantime, the City of Cape Town has formally adopted re-blocking as an informal settlement upgrading strategy. It is included in the City’s IDP and Urban Settlement Development Grant (USDG) budgets for the next five years. The strength of re-blocking stems from the central participation of community members in the planning, design and implementation of their settlement upgrade. Unless community members are seen as central participants in the design of their settlement, the exercise remains futile, and not responsive to local conditions.

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Apr 11

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SA SDI Alliance at World Urban Forum 7 in Colombia

By Yolande Hendler CORC, FEDUP, ISN, SDI, uTshani Fund No Comments

By Ariana MacPherson (on behalf of SDI secretariat) and Yolande Hendler (on behalf of CORC)

Today marks the last day of the 7^th World Urban Forum (WUF), which took place in Medellin, Colombia from 5-11 April 2014. Patrick Maghebula, Rose Molokoane and Marlene Don – national co-ordinators of the South African Alliance – attended the forum together with numerous members affiliated to Shack / Slum Dwellers International (SDI). Convened by the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), WUF is regarded as the ‘World’s Premier Conference on Cities’ that examines the most pressing issues concerning “human settlements, including rapid urbanization and its impact on cities, communities, economies, climate change and policies” (WUF 7). Given that the design, governance and infrastructure of cities directly impacts on social, cultural and economic inequality, this year’s forum was themed “Urban Equity in Development – Cities for Life’.

SDI affiliates from Africa, Asia and Latin America on day one at WUF7 in Medellin

SDI launches the ‘Know Your City’ campaign

A lot of discussion at the past week’s WUF focused on the use of data as a key tool in the development of inclusive, sustainable cities. Key to this discussion is how data can be used in the cities of Africa, Asia and Latin America, most of which still face major challenges around urban poverty and whose city development strategies, for the most part, continue to exclude the large majority of these cities’ populations – the urban poor.

But at SDI’s networking event on Wednesday, a strategically different approach to data was presented and discussed. The ‘Know Your City’ campaign – a global campaign for gathering citywide data on slums as the basis for inclusive partnerships between the urban poor and their local governments – was presented as a critical component of the push for urban data. When communities of the urban poor collect data about their own communities, in partnership with their local and national governments, they are armed with the necessary tools to become key players developing urban development strategies that take into account the realities and needs of the city’s urban poor majority.

SDI-affiliated federations of the urban poor have been collecting information about themselves for decades. This data has led to upgrading projects in affiliates across Africa, Asia and Latin America, and has formed the basis of large-scale slum upgrading interventions in India, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Kenya and more recently, Uganda. Read more about the ‘Know your City’ campaign here.

Patrick Maghebhula (Informal Settlement Network National Co-ordinator)

SA Alliance on People Centred Strategies, Community-Collected Data and Partnerships with Local Governments

On Monday, Patrick Maghebhula joined alliance leaders from Kenya and Uganda in a discussion around how to put poor people at the centre of strategies on urban development. They highlighted how organised urban poor communities triggered new institutional responses to poverty in their cities and how urban poor communities across the Global South are developing relationships with governments that can lead to scaling up slum upgrading and improving quality of life.

Rose moderated an event on “Creating Resilient & Equitable Cities through Partnerships for Community –Collected Data” on Tuesday. The focus was on the critical role of such partnerships at the city-wide and global scale which can serve as a means to explore how data collected by the poor, about the poor and for the poor can become standard benchmarking data used by urban policy makers and planners. The key point was that every city can and should be generating data about urban poor communities with urban poor communities.

Yesterday’s UNDP event on “Strong Local Government for Development through Partnerships in Ghana, South Africa & Uganda” highlighted a new partnership between the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and SDI. This partnership aims to support deliberative engagements between local governments and organised slum dweller communities to build a base of data and skills. This approach is based on the experience that, all too often, city development initiatives have been based on a narrow comprehension of the cultural and socio-economic dynamics of the urban poor. However, informal settlement communities have begun organizing and networking at city wide and national scales in order to catalyse innovations with formal authorities for responding to land, sanitation, shelter, and opportunities for employment.

Rose Molokoane begins the SDI networking session with a song

At today’s event, Marlene joins the discussion on “Smart Cities from the Bottom Up” which will look at the scarcity of hard data on which communities, governments and international agencies base development decisions. The discussion will elaborate on how community-driven profiling, enumerations, GIS mapping and data management are some core methodologies of urban poor federations such as the South African Alliance and other federations linked to SDI. By working together with experts in urban data analysis and research at the Santa Fe Institute (SFI) the data collected by slum dwellers becomes of a standard suitable for local poverty analysis, advocacy and planning.

As WUF7 comes to a close, it is all the more evident that

“There cannot be transformation of the city if slum dwellers are not integrated” (Rose Molokoane, National Co-ordinator SA SDI Alliance)

Rose Molokoane (National Co-ordinator, Federation of the Urban Poor)

CORC

“We Build Ourselves” – FEDUP Permaculture Exchange 2014

South Africa SDI visits CODI, Thailand

Upgrading Flamingo Informal Settlement

Gauteng settlements install ‘Litres of Light’

2014 UCT – Europe Community Studio: Spatial Development Framework

Designing with Communities: CPUT – Manenberg Studio 2014

National Community Exchange – Durban to Cape Town (Part 2)

National Community Exchange – Durban to Cape Town (Part 1)

Official Handover of Kuku Town Re-blocking

SA SDI Alliance at World Urban Forum 7 in Colombia

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