CityViews
YOUR FREE CAPE TOWN CENTRAL CITY PAPER
March 2012
Photo: Caroline Jordan
THE GREE N ISSUE Cape Town as a
SUSTAINABLE city
Creative clustering: How co-location can contribute to the economy
Rooftops: Cape Town’s green real estate
>> page 3
CLEAN | SAFE | CAR I NG
>> page 7
Green energy: Two good reasons to turn off the lights >> page 9
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No small change: Challenging the Central City Sustainability is a big buzz word these days, and it’s the big idea and better tomorrow to which Cape Town aspires. What is important to keep in mind on this journey is that we don’t arrive at a more sustainable urban future individually – we have to get there together. That is why I’d like to ask for your help and your heart in the following three areas: Keeping the city clean and green
Creating a more sustainable city involves so much more than recycling – and yet, as a city, we still need to get the basics right: The CBD needs a much more robust recycling plan, and while the CCID has made some dramatic changes to ensure we don’t drive demand for landfills, this doesn’t change the habits of all our residents and retailers, property owners and private companies. So if you have
a good idea on how to set up and sustain a robust recycling system in the CBD, one that’s low-cost and low-carbon, innovative and implementable, I’d like to hear from you. Creating a more caring city
As you go about your day, make a point of showing your gratitude to those who make the city work, the unsung heroes, the forgotten helpers. Remember those who would otherwise be invisible. If the circumstances of our city’s homeless
tug at your heartstrings, be a part of ensuring a more sustainable future for them: Instead of giving on the street, give to our city’s shelters and social centres. Give hope – by giving responsibly. Giving life to our streets and public spaces
Our city wouldn’t be what it is without you: Clean streets and safe squares without people are empty. This is your city, and I’d like to encourage you to make more of it – to
walk the streets, use the transport, support the shops, experience the cultural and historic spaces. March is an ideal time, with free festivities like Infecting the City (pages 7 and 12) and the Cape Town International Jazz Festival people’s concert (page 11) coming to town. The more you make of our city, the more this city becomes. Let’s make it more liveable, more lively, together. Tasso Evangelinos COO of the CCID
Caring city
Gratitude Attitude We received a wonderful note from Natasha Ellie, in which one of the residents from the Napier Street Haven takes time to thank the shelter’s donors:
Photos: Lisa Burnell
John Philmon
This month, City Views would like to thank John Philmon for the work he’s doing at Youth Solutions Africa.
“When one comes exhausted to the shelter and you get handed toiletries and have a hot shower then climb into a duvet-covered bunk bed, you feel as if you have arrived at an exclusive hotel – your gratitude is overwhelming for the donors whose money goes towards water and electricity. “Then you walk through to the dining area where a well-prepared hot plate of food awaits you. The amounts on offer on this plate just comfort you in ways you cannot believe. Then to your surprise you are offered cake and doughnuts for nighttime tea! The look of sheer pleasure on all the faces is a sight to see. Thank you to all those who donate directly with food. “When one works or is looking for work we seldom have the right clothes to always wear. Here we are given shoes, and clothes to suit wherever we are going. It makes one feel so good, more confident and part
of society. To all those who give rather than throw away we thank you so much for the effort in coming to the shelter to hand in clothes. Trust me, as a client, ‘The Shelter Boutique’ is the best around!”
To all those who give hope, give opportunity, give a home – thank you for giving responsibly! To those who want to, here’s where you can join them: Youth Solutions Africa T: 082 2957 469 youthsa1@yahoo.com The Haven 2 Napier Street T: 021 425 4700 www.haven.org.za
After leaving the CCID social development department, John started a feeding programme for those living on the streets that has since developed into a safe haven and shelter for over 20 young men. At their living quarters in Salt River, these men have access to a workshop (some sew bags for a living), a gym, a small garden, and computers so they can work on their CVs. They also regularly visit a school in Philippi where they coach soccer: “They’re crazy about soccer. And they love coaching the kids,” John explains. The turnaround for some has been incredible: Three men have since moved back home, another has just been accepted into university. What makes the difference? Personal attention. “I’m blessed to be able to lead by example,” explains John. “And when it comes to helping these guys out, I walk with them the extra mile.”
Read the latest e-dition: www.capetownpartnership.co.za/city-views Friend us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/CityViewsCapeTown Follow us on Twitter: @City_Views
CityViews Published by: The Central City Improvement District (CCID)
Editor: Judith Browne: 021 419 1881 judith@capetownpartnership.co.za
Contributors: Michelle Snaddon Andrew Fleming Megan Lindow Alan Cameron Caroline Jordan
Website: www.capetowncid.co.za www.capetownpartnership.co.za
Design: Infestation www.infestation.co.za 021 461 8601
The Central City Improvement District is a private-public partnership formed by the property owners of a defined geographical area to provide top-up services over and above what the City of Cape Town provides. The CCID and its managing agent, the Cape Town Partnership, were formed when the City of Cape Town, the South African Property Owners Association (SAPOA), the Cape Town Regional Chamber of Commerce and Industry and other stakeholders came together to address issues of urban degeneration, disinvestment in the Central City and related social problems. The Central City’s rapid regeneration process has been built upon the strength and pillars of successful private-public partnerships at both operational and strategic levels, and a shared vision for a clean, safe and caring Cape Town CBD.
SAVE THESE NUMBERS ON YOUR PHONE CCID Security Manager: 082 453 2942 CCID Deputy Security Manager: 082 442 2112 CCID 24-hour number: 082 415 7127 SAPS Control Room: 021 467 8002 Social Department: 082 563 4289
Telling your story in City Views City Views does not sell advertising or editorial space at this time. We are, however, always on the look out for city ownership stories: tales of people who love the CBD, who choose to live, work, study, invest, and play here. If you would like to be featured, please send your story to judith@capetownpartnership.co.za for consideration. Please note that submission of a story doesn’t guarantee that it will be included.
Distributing City Views If you’re an eager reader of City Views – and you know others who would enjoy reading it too, consider becoming a distributor. All we need is your contact details, address and how many copies you need each month. Or, if you would just like to track down where you can obtain your FREE copy send an email to Aziza Patandin on aziza@capetownpartnership.co.za.
Reading City Views Photos: Lisa Burnell
city views online
March 2012
Celebrate the 15th birthday of The Big Issue by buying your special edition before 8 March. At R18, available at street intersections throughout the CBD, it’s the cheapest, most accessible – but also most meaningful – present you’ll buy all year.
THE BIG ISSUE TURNS 15!
We love knowing who our readers are and what they think. If you enjoy your copy of City Views, why not mail a picture of you reading it, wherever you love to read it (Your local coffee shop? On a street bench while people-watching?) telling us what you enjoyed most. If we like it, we’ll run it. Get in touch: judith@capetownpartnership.co.za.
March 2012
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The Fringe Effect 1. Creative industry exports growth rate:
4.4% for the developed world
5.26%
Photos: Sarah Scott
A CITY OF OPPORTUNITy
South Africa
10.4%
for developing world or Global South
Yehuda Raff (left) with Aidan Bennetts, a designer based in The Fringe, at the launch of the 2011 Creative Cape Town Annual.
Creative clustering: How co-location can contribute to the economy
23.1%
for all of Africa
The east city of Cape Town is billed as a design and innovation district that builds on Cape Town’s creative capital, but what does this mean in real terms?
Did you know that The Fringe is one of five Cape Catalyst initiatives identified and supported by the Provincial Government of the Western Cape to drive economic growth and job creation? This ranks it alongside the Saldanha IDZ project, the planned health technology park in Pinelands, a port planning framework for Cape Town, and a telecommunications broadband strategy. The Fringe’s focus is on design, media, ICT innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship, and its success is hinged on the economic benefits that come from focused and supported incubation and clustering.
“Collaboration is key to the success of The Fringe. Most people wouldn’t see collaboration as an economic driver, but it’s how the creative industries can turbocharge their growth. It’s time to make use of collective resources, common goals and shared space.” Yehuda Raff
A
Vision 2031: What can The Fringe do?
Besides the contribution to economic growth, The Fringe is also estimated to create and sustain over 3 500 core jobs by 2031. According to the report’s analysis, the benefits of the district (estimated at over R1-billion) outweigh the investment required by a ratio of 3.6! With this prospect, The Fringe is not only economically viable, but economically robust. What gives The Fringe the edge?
The overall conclusion of the analysis was that two factors influenced the success of the project the most: the clustering effect on creative industries and the benefits of business incubation. The benefits of business incubation alone makes The Fringe economically viable, however it is the clustering effect that really delivers the returns. Clustering is the grouping of similar or related companies in a manner that allows them to benefit from shared infrastructure, marketing, costs and information. Initially, the increased competition between very similar businesses may drive down prices and reduce profit, however studies show that this soon balances out through a higher-quality industry.
Benefits
Explaining the merits of clustering through international references, the report also highlights the even greater benefits of clustering in the creative industries in particular. In the UK for instance, the creative sector grew at double the rate of the rest of the economy, and in Ireland at six times the rate. Finland’s creative economy grew at 11.1% compared to the 1.9% of the national GDP.
0.6
1
1
Opportunities to grow: The creative sector in South Africa
South Africa is underachieving in terms of creative sector growth at the moment: Globally, the growth of the creative industry exports is estimated to be 4.4% for the developed world and 10.4% for the developing world. If separated from the developing world’s average, Africa boasts a 23.1% growth rate, while South Africa sits at only 5.26%. It’s clearly time for South Africa to set aside time, money and focus to optimise its creative industries growth and start benefiting from the returns the rest of Africa and the world is enjoying. Based on the quantifiable benefits outlined in the economic impact report, The Fringe is just the project to kickstart the local creative economy.
Total costs 1
Benefits 3.6 times
greater than costs
3. business turnover YEAR
Catalysing growth and jobs
ccording to an economic impact report prepared by Barry Standish, Antony Boting andBrian Swing of Economics Information Services, The Fringe is expected to significantly accelerate growth in the creative economy of the Western Cape. The report is premised on the assumption that The Fringe, on behalf of its government partners, will invest and evolve into a business development resource and node that will result in a key economic driver – collaboration – transforming the creative industries and their contribution to GGP, gross geographic product.
2. Cost Benefit Analysis
Natural growth by existing business in The Fringe
1
Additional growth through The Fringe effect
5
Are you a small business looking to benefit from being in The Fringe? Get in touch with project coordinators Zayd Minty and Yehuda Raff: The Fringe HQ 86 Commercial Street T: 074 114 7772 @FringeDistrict www.thefringe.org.za
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R million, 2011 prices
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March 2012
Conscientious consumption:
Saving the planet while going grocery shopping
Every time you go shopping you can contribute to sustainable community projects, support animal welfare initiatives and environmentally friendly farming practices – or even help save the rhinos – without setting foot out of the city. The trick is to know what to buy and why. By Michelle Snaddon
In the bag: Creating employment and helping the environment
Big retailers are inviting consumers to support vital conservation projects and biodiversity initiatives – by buying fabric bags, and reducing their reliance on plastic ones: According to Woolworths’ Good Business Journey report, “Customers proved in a big way that they are not prepared to settle for the Big 4 and some 60 000 rhino bags have been sold so far, amounting to a donation of R600 000. These funds are being used to ensure that much-needed antipoaching equipment and support can be secured for rangers across the region. What’s more, in purchasing these bags, customers are also supporting a small Cape Town BEE company called Isikhwama and helping to reduce the amount of plastic waste that goes to landfill. Isikhwama, which employs semi-skilled and unskilled people who were previously out of work, is one of the small enterprises benefiting from partnership with Woolies”. Isikhwama, based in Maitland, produces 20 000 to 30 000 bags for Woolworths weekly. Be sure to look out for bags in support of conservation efforts to increase the alarmingly low numbers of African wild dogs, as well as those in support of the Biodiversity Wine Initiative (BWI), or the Fishing for the Future bags – a
sustainable seafood initiative along with SASSI (the WWF programme for sustainable seafood). Pick n Pay is launching new bags, also in conjunction with WWF’s sustainable fisheries programme and in support of their aim to restore over-exploited fish stocks to sustainably managed levels. Pick n Pay aims to contribute R6.1million to the project over three years. They have also made the commitment to stock only sustainably sourced seafood products by the end of 2015. The Make Plastic Bags Extinct campaign was launched in 2008 and their newest eco-friendly bags are designed and manufactured by Township, a Fair Trade-accredited and Cape Town-based supplier, through co-operatives in Khayelitsha, Manenberg and Westlake. The project has so far generated employment for more than 70 previously disadvantaged women. And remember the first Pick n Pay green bag? For every bag sold, R1 goes to a special environmental fund, known as Kids in Parks. Thanks to this awareness initiative, 30 000 children have visited South Africa’s National Parks and have learned about better conserving the world around them. If it’s got to be plastic, make sure it’s PET
Plastic containers are graded from one to seven according to how recyclable they are – and PET (polyethylene terephthalate), a resilient material that lends itself to recycling, is a grade one plastic. Pick n Pay was the first retailer to launch fully recyclable PET wine bot-
tles that reduce greenhouse emissions by 55%. The reduced bottle weight and diameter allows for up to 36% more product to be transported in the same container space, yet it holds the same amount of wine. Woolworths is the first major South African retailer to use post-consumer recycled plastic in foods packaging: Their ready-to-eat meal containers are made with 30% rPET (recycled polyethylene terephthalate). According to Woolworths, “The recycled PET is totally safe for food packaging and is scrupulously super cleaned to make sure it meets or exceeds international standards for food safety. Recycling 1 ton of PET bottles not only saves 6.2 cubic metres of landfill space; it also saves enough energy to keep a 15-energy saver light glowing for 24 hours. Woolworths first began using rPET fibre several years ago for the filling in duvets and pillows. It also helps create jobs – it’s estimated that some 10 000 people earn income from collecting bottles.” So the next time you go shopping, buy a bag and check the bottom of any plastic container – is it PET?
Pick n Pay 58 Strand Street T: 021 418 1118 www.picknpay.co.za Woolworths 34 Adderley Street T: 021 481 7111 www.woolworths.co.za
Magrieta Leeuwschut, the factory manager at Isikhwama, one of Woolworths reusable bag suppliers. The bags provide employment for the machinists at Isikhwama, an enterprise development project supported by Woolworths.
Photos: Supplied
W
hat are retailers doing to help your next grocery shop be low on environmental impact and high on social upliftment? Here are two ways in which Woolworths and Pick n Pay are reducing our reliance on plastic.
Top: Pick n Pay bags ready for quality checks at a co-operative in the Township network
7 green shopping habits
1.
Shrink your carbon footprint by walking to your stores. Save on petrol and parking too.
2.
Take a reusable bag with you and if you forget, buy one that contributes to one of many worthwhile causes.
3.
Support the green, organic, fair trade and free range food products wherever possible. All of these products protect the environment, are sensitive to animal welfare issues and reduce dependence on pesticides and chemical fertilisers.
4.
Choose household cleaning products that are biodegradable, non-toxic to humans, animals and plant life.
5.
Buy garbage bags made from 100% recycled material (most of which is post-consumer recycled material).
6.
For long-lasting foodstuffs buy in bulk sizes to reduce your trail of used packaging.
7.
Try not to support out-of-season foods that have been brought in from overseas and contribute to global warming. Remember: Local is lekker.
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Greening the waste cycle How do you know that the waste from your home, office or business won’t end up on a landfill site? If your trash isn’t going into a bin labelled ‘paper’ or ‘plastic’, the chances are good that it won’t go anywhere else. Organising a waste removal contractor to collect your recycling is as easy as making a phone call and having bins delivered that you can set up around the office. Educate yourself on how to reduce your impact on the environment: City of Cape Town’s Solid Waste Management T: 0860 103 089 www.capetown.gov.za/ solidwaste Simphiwe Gcisa, who works for Gavin Grosch and Luk4Junk
Your habits keep the Cape in shape
Postwink T: 021 447 8783 @Postwink www.postwink.co.za
What will you do with this copy of City Views when you’re finished with it? Will you treasure it or trash it? Use it to catch paint drippings, or pass it on to a friend? By Alan Cameron
E
ach decision of whether or not to reclaim a newspaper – or any recyclable – by not disposing of it responsibly has a direct impact on the environment. Studies show that on average each Capetonian is responsible for between 1.5 and 2kg of discarded waste each day, of which up to 50% can be recycled. For every ton that isn’t recycled, one ton of CO2 goes into the atmosphere as methane gas. A decision to treat your trash responsibly reduces your personal impact on nature significantly. educe, reuse R and recycle: Seriously
1.
Waste in Cape Town is either recycled or dumped in landfills. Each time material is recycled, it is given a new life span, exponentially reducing the effect on the environment – saving on the extraction of raw materials for a new product, the coalpowered energy to create it at the factory and the fossil fuels to transport it. And Cape Town is running seriously short of dumping space: “Each time material is sent to the landfill it takes up more space of a very finite and rapidly dwindling resource,” says Councillor Shehaam Sims, mayoral committee member for utility services in the City. The remaining three landfill sites owned by the City of Cape Town have a combined capacity
of 12 to 14 years and efforts begun 12 years ago to design and build a new regional landfill site have yet to pass the public approval stage. “Cape Town’s geography creates a beautiful setting for the bustling metropolis, but the mountains and sea that surround the city don’t allow a lot of space for landfills,” says Hugh Tyrrell of Green Edge Communications, a consultancy that promotes sustainable behaviour change. “And in some ways Cape Town is luckier for it – being forced to address its waste issues. The city’s municipal efforts at reducing the volume and effect of waste are respected nationally.”
collected – for example, if ten of thirteen bins provided by the city aren’t used due to internal recycling efforts, the city takes back the unused bins and reduces the rates accordingly, by R75 per bin each month. Each city business is obligated to either hire an accredited contractor or pay the municipality to dispose of their waste. Recyclable waste is valuable, and some contractors even pay for the opportunity to collect it. Month on month the incentives laid out by the city and recyclers leave more in the pocket of businesses, resulting in less trash being sent to expensive landfills.
onnecting the C dots: One man’s trash is another man’s treasure
cid Recycling: C Reducing the city’s waste-line
2.
One innovative way to reduce business waste is to see by-products as useful: “Often one businesses’ garbage is another’s gold, and so we set up an Industrial Waste Exchange (IWEX), a free online system that joins the dots between waste generators and users,” explains Shehaam. The system serves as an initial contact point, and often the connections made online result in more formal working arrangements between firms, schools, NGOs or community groups. In the Central City, where the city is the provider, individual building managers get reimbursed for reducing the amount of municipal waste
3.
The Central City Improvement District constantly affirms its commitment to a clean, safe and caring city, but what is it doing to reduce the carbon footprint of the CBD? Realising the potential to reduce the city’s wasteline and make CCID levies go further, COO Tasso Evangelinos signed up with Gavin
Find funky recycling bins for the office
Grosch of Luk4Junk in 2011. The result of this recycling partnership in a few short months? Of the 60 tons of waste swept up each month by the CCID cleaning teams in the CBD, 56 tons is now sent to recycling centres, while effectively reducing the CCID’s landfill waste bill by more than 40%. “I’m the man in the middle between the waste collection and the waste disposal part of the process,” explains Gavin. “The waste is dropped off at my facility and I sort it; the CCID know their waste is being handled sustainably and, on top of that, creating employment. The larger my company grows the more people I’ve got to employ. I’ve recently had to hire five more workers – all of whom were previously unemployed. The recycling industry doesn’t create wealth in isolation. It’s labour intensive and creates jobs,” he explains. Across the board, between seven and ten job opportunities are created in the recycling industry for every one job opportunity that opens up through a landfill project, Hugh affirms.
“The larger my company grows the more people I’ve got to employ. I’ve recently had to hire five more workers – all of whom were previously unemployed. The recycling industry doesn’t create wealth in isolation. It’s labour intensive and creates jobs.” Gavin Grosch
Create a (recycling) job Luk4Junk T: 084 215 0263 luk4juk@gmail.com Clearer Conscience T: 082 339 9838 @ClearerConscien www.clearer.co.za
Citi Scrap 29 New Church Street T: 021 423 0795 Hours: 07h00 to 15h30 georgef@iafrica.com Drop off paper and glass Good Hope Seminary High School Hope Street, Gardens T: 021 465 2330 Hours: 14h50 – 15h45 weekdays www.ghshs.wcape. school.za Connect with the clean and green mapping movement Cape Town Green Map @capetwngreenmap www.capetowngreenmap. co.za
Photos: Lisa Burnell
CLEAN city
Sell your paper and scrap metal
Gavin Grosch from Luk4Junk (above) and Dino Browne and Denver Adams from J&M Cleaning Services (below), two companies contracted to the CCID to help keep the CBD clean.
Did you know? The uptake of recycling among Cape Town’s households who are given a convenient recycling option is as high as 90%, and averages at 80%.
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Greener threads
Making clothing and housing with hemp At an unassuming shop on Long Street you can find some extraordinary ideas to address South Africa’s housing, nutrition and income generation challenges – in a sustainable way. Hemporium (and its online store) doesn’t just sell a range of clothes, shoes, beauty products – it showcases the possibility of a new green industry based on hemp. By Megan Lindow
Photos: Tafline Laylin, Inhabitat and supplied
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Tony Budden, on the planted rooftop of his Hemp House in Noordhoek (the first in South Africa) – which collects rainwater runoff, helps reduce the carbon footprint of the house and improves the quality of the air around it.
O “Particularly with the rise of the green building industry, the cultivation and manufacture of hemp products can potentially generate jobs and income in South Africa through new industries ranging from renewable plastics and construction materials, to nutritional supplements. That’s what we’re working towards.” Tony Budden
ften confused with its illicit cousin, marijuana, hemp remains illegal in South Africa. But there’s an important distinction between the two: “You cannot get high from industrial hemp, and you cannot get good fibre from marijuana,” explains entrepreneur and Hemporium co-owner Tony Budden. When Hemporium first began manufacturing bags from imported hemp fabric fifteen years ago, Tony and his business partner Duncan Parker had yet to realise how truly versatile the material is. While hemp is currently only grown in South Africa under controlled conditions for research purposes, other countries such as France, Germany, Canada, and China have exploited hemp more fully, developing some 25 000 different products from it, including biofuels, building and construction materials, medicines, paper, and even bioplastics. Tony and Duncan are excited about the possibilities for South Africa: Hemp is highly nutritious and a versatile food source. Hemp seed oil contains the omega acids in the ratios needed by humans; and hemp seeds can be ground into a nutritious flour for porridge (or even waffles). Not simply satisfied with educating consumers through the Hemporium brand, they have been lobbying government to allow commercial hemp cultivation – hoping that in hemp they’ll see a sustainable building material able to address the country’s housing backlog. His most tangible (and beautiful) showcase of the possibilities? A home in Noordhoek built from hempcrete, hemp insulation and hemp plaster.
From cultivation to manufacture, Tony argues, hemp has a light footprint: It is fast-growing, and absorbs carbon. A Canadian study which compared the inputs and ouputs of an acre of land planted with hemp versus an acre of land planted with cotton, found that every t-shirt manufactured from hemp instead of cotton resulted in less water consumption and pesticide use. Hemp-based building materials would displace the use of energy-intensive fibreglass and non-renewable clay, cement, and minerals in construction. Hemporium’s long-term goal is to promote the cultivation and use of industrial hemp as a sustainable crop in South Africa. They’re a step closer with a trial cultivation permit being approved for planting in spring, so soon the many industries derived from hemp can begin to take shape: “Particularly with the rise of the green building industry, the cultivation and manufacture of hemp products can potentially generate jobs and income in South Africa through new industries ranging from renewable plastics and construction materials, to nutritional supplements. That’s what we’re working towards.”
Support a growing green movement based on hemp Hemporium 20 Long Street T: 021 762 4380 www.hemporium.com
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Photos: Caroline Jordan and supplied
Trash to treasure: Recycling our attitudes around waste
LEFT: Stephen Lamb on the rooftop of 44 Wale Street
Rooftops: Cape Town’s green real estate Stephen Lamb has a vision: From the City of Cape Town’s 44 Wale Street rooftop, he points out the top of every building in the city. “All of what you see is green real estate,” he says. “Look at all those empty roofs – that useable space – and think of the opportunities available. I dream of there being rooftop gardens all over the CBD: green beacons, a whole subculture.” By Judith Browne
ly has a grand vision, it by no means loses sight of the small details: The saplings currently growing on the rooftop are seeded from the old milkwood tree in Woodstock. Other indigenous and edible plants will follow suit. “We want this rooftop garden to promote unpoisoned organic vegetables to eat, to showcase local fynbos species – to get our fyn mense to celebrate our fynbos, and understand how ingenious, intricate and complex the fynbos biome is. “That’s also why I used alien-invasive timber off Table Mountain for the shelter structure. These trees are cut down as part of the Working for Water programme, originally headed “All of what you by Kader Asmal, the most successful job creation see is green real programme in our country estate. Look at to date. The more alien inall those empty vasive trees are cut down roofs – that on the mountain, the more useable space – space there is for fynbos to and think of the grow on the mountain. opportunities “You see this deck you’re available. I dream standing on now,” Stephen of there being says, tapping the wood with rooftop gardens his shoe. “It doesn’t just supall over the CBD: port your feet. It supports green beacons, a job creation.” whole subculture.” Stephen also sees planted city rooftops as a big opporsoil – to transform the roof tunity for green business into a garden. Given time to showcase their products and more plants, it’s set – renewable energies, solar to become an enclosed, water heaters, photovoltaic shaded, comfortable space panels and wind turbines. where you can take in the “Rooftop gardens like these sights and sounds of the provide the ideal space in city without baking. which to showcase affordWhile the project certain- able and innovative renew-
able energy systems that work for middle and lower income earners. This is especially relevant on top of the environmental department of Cape Town. And as for the greening movement, it’s appropriate that the City of Cape Town should lead this. That’s why they’re in office: to lead. It’s great to see how they are.”
“We would like this rooftop garden to grow unpoisoned organic vegetables to eat, to showcase local fynbos species – to get our fyn mense to celebrate our fynbos, and understand how ingenious, intricate and complex the fynbos biome is.” More rooftop spaces also help us reconnect: “We wanted this structure to open up the views to Table Mountain, the Keeper of the South. To reconnect us to the smell of the sea, the sound of the calls to prayer, the sounds of the seagulls – all co-existing within a bustling city.” “We’re sitting above what used to be a forest, but at some point we cut that umbilical cord. Our city still needs healing spaces, soul spaces, creative spaces. Living, relaxing spaces where you can tap into the genius of the natural world. The ge-
nius of design is in nature. And we can’t improve on it. We can only mimic it, and do so humbly. People and nature – those are the two beacons you should always follow, and design … design is the glue that brings them together.”
Touching the Earth Lightly T: 083 229 1821 http://touchingtheearthlightly.com
Drinking in the view Until more planted rooftops become available to the public, where can you go for a view out onto the CBD’s green real estate? The Grand Daddy Sky Bar 273 Long Street T: 021 422 4536 @granddaddyhotel www.granddaddy. co.za
CV Why is performance art in public places important? For me as an artist, I believe in entertainment. I feel it’s the best way to get the attention of people. When you look funny people focus on you, and this provides an opportunity to inject truths about people, their communities and attitudes to life, economy, health – and educate them. I believe that sculpture, painting, drawing and installations are mostly in the prison places we call galleries and museums. How many ordinary people have access to this place? But art in public spaces is our own democracy. It is free, it is the choice of the people. CV What is Abawon: Stains about? I believe each of us knows right from wrong, good from bad. But some still choose to do what is wrong. No one wants to be sick or ill, but when it does happen, it is our duty as friends, family and neighbours to be there for each other and reach out to each other. But most time it’s the reverse: we paint our outer face as white, but keep the black one in. Gender equality is a big problem. Waste is created not only by women, but it is the attitude of our culture that it is a woman’s duty to clean the house, the environment, and take care of the children.
YOUR CAPE TOWN YOUR SPACE. YOUR ART. FREE What do synchronised swimmers in the Long Street Baths, animals formed from air, your dreams chalked on St George’s Mall, poetry falling from CBD rooftops and the dance of worship in the Company’s Garden all have in common? Africa Centre’s fifth annual public arts festival, Infecting the City – which takes to the streets and public spaces of Cape Town from the 6 to 10 March 2012. Transcendent, beautiful, challenging, ethereal and always free, this year’s festival promises a range of work from some of South Africa’s best artists. And if the work of Infecting the City inspires you and you’d like to see more of it, make sure you get to Hiddingh Hall on Friday 9 March at 09h30 for the free seminar on developing a public arts policy for Cape Town.
Where can you check your attitudes with Akirash? Cape Town Station Forecourt 7 to 9 March 09h00 and 17h00
Infecting the City 6 to 10 March 2012 T: 087 150 5446 @infectingthecity www.infectingthecity.com
The Waiting Room 273 Long Street T: 021 422 4536 @Royal_Eatery www.royaleeatery. com Tjing Tjing Bar 273 Long Street T: 021 422 4536 @tjingtjingbar www.tjingtjingbar. co.za
Photo: Supplied
“W
ith just a small amount of funding, one could do a desktop survey to establish how many rugby fields’ worth of garden we could have right here, in the City Bowl. Based on that, you could calculate the potential yield of organic vegetables based on that square metre space.” Stephen is the design mind behind 44 Wale Street’s rooftop garden – as well as Cape Town’s awardwinning COP17 stand. He’s using alien timber cut from Table Mountain and old milk crates lined with bidim – a geo-fabric porous enough to let water drain through, while retaining
As part of Infecting the City public arts festival Nigerian artist Akirash (Olaniyi Rasheed Akindiya) will be performing his newest work, Abawon: Stains – asking us to take a closer look at our attitudes to waste, gender equality, and people with disabilities. Why? “To put life, beauty and meaning back into materials which people think are useless waste.” City Views spoke briefly with Akirash to get a few more details.
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from the
fringe
CityViews
March 2012
livEable city
I live in the Central City Ingrid Sinclair is a writer, thinker, a laugher who lives in The Fringe. She’s also a passionate advocate of a simpler, more sustainable life. CV You moved from Darling to Darling Street. Why? I commuted from Darling and back every day for four months and it was soul destroying. I asked myself the very simple question: Why live like a Johannesburger when you don’t live in Joburg? Cape Town has a liveable CBD, to live and work here is a unique privilege.
“A few years ago, I was without a car for a while and I took up walking or taking taxis (minibus and otherwise) to wherever I needed to be. I was surprised by the connection that I began developing to the pavements, the trees, the people, the traffic lights … I knew where the next rubbish bin was, I knew how long it would take me to get from A to B, and I began seeing the city as a whole, as opposed to disconnected areas. I was also struck by how uplifting this connection was – I wasn’t always happy but I never felt lonely.”
CV How are you finding it? It takes me four minutes to walk to work; I live above the best Indian fast food restaurant in the city and my block is the scene of many a Hollywood movie. The inner city is romantic, sexy and edgy. Not to mention convenient, famous and well developed. I love it. CV You write for a living. What are some of Cape Town’s most compelling stories? The Two Oceans Aquarium and the work they do in terms of marine conservation, education and outreach. I’ve never come across a team of people who walk the talk the way they do. I’m very grateful for the opportunity to have worked with them – it has changed my life in many ways. CV You’re writing a book in which the city is a central character of sorts … Can you tell us more? The phrase “If these walls could talk” comes to mind. I’m interested in the way landscapes – urban and otherwise – shape experience. A few years ago, I was without a car for a while and I took up walking or taking taxis (minibus and otherwise) to wherever I needed to be. I was surprised by the connection that I began developing to the pavements, the trees, the people, the traffic lights … I knew where the next rubbish bin was, I knew how long it would take me to get from A to B, and I began seeing the city as a whole, as opposed to disconnected areas. I was also struck by how uplifting this connection was – I wasn’t always happy but I never felt lonely. The story I’m writing is as much about how people control their environment as it is about how they’re controlled by it. CV What are the best live music venues in the city? I am thrilled by The Mahogany Room in Buitenkant Street – it’s Cape Town’s new jazz heart. The venue and the music are intimate and authentic. Call me old-fashioned, but for dark rooms and rock and roll, cheap beer and heavy eyeliner, I have always been a huge fan of Mercury Live.
Ingrid Sinclair
Ingrid Sinclair at one of her favourite places in the city – the Two Oceans Aquarium
CV Secret spaces in the city to unwind? A friend introduced me to the magic of the whale sound-booth at the South African Museum. Just spend a few minutes in that booth zoning out – it’s radical. Then you can stroll back to wherever you have to be through the Company’s Garden. Lots of childhood nostalgia associated with that memory. CV You’re passionate about sustainable living. What can and should Capetonians be doing? I try to abstain from seafood as far as I can – considering that I do love it so. There are simple steps to take. Familiarise yourself with the SASSI sustainable seafood guide; avoid ocean predators and stick to smaller fish. Seafood is by no means a limitless resource and so, at this stage, I don’t think eating it is OK at all. Unfortunately many stores and restaurants are ill-informed or dis-
honest about where they source their seafood from; this is why I’d rather have none at all. You can however look out for sustainable certification labels. I try to stick to a vegetarian diet and eat meat as a treat. This is not about being sentimental about anything – there is a real food crisis out there. I’ve also tried to unlearn “shopping”, for the earth but also for my own mental health. I moved into a tiny space with almost nothing – turns out, minimalistic living is simple and stress-free.
Follow Ingrid around the city: @ingridsinclair
THE WONDER OF WATER More than 70% of the human body is water, and more than 70% of the Earth is covered with water. March is the time to start being more mindful of who you are and where you live: Celebrate National Water Week from 5 to 11 March and World Water Day on 22 March.
March 2012
around
CityViews
green ENERGY
town
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1. Upcycle Flower Lamp Fringe-based creative director and entrepeneur Veronica Elgin, together with Hester Cilliers, have created this beautiful Upcycle Flower Lamp – from glass bottles and jars, run on household olive oil, and inspired by indigenous plants and flowers.
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good reasons to turn off the lights
“We wanted to design a product that would be multidimensional in approach – a product that by its very nature would promote awareness, while being a beautiful handmade décor item,” says Veronica. “Our areas of focus are on upcycling and rethinking how we consume; biodiversity awareness, indigenous plant preservation and proliferation; plant-based energy; and employment creation. The lamp is handmade by community ceramicists.”
Consol Solar Jar
2.
Photo: Supplied and by Inge Prins, Elle Decoration
Also launched at Design Indaba, and nominated for the title of Most Beautiful Object in South Africa, the Consol Solar Jar is literally bottled sunshine – created by fitting a solar panel and solar-powered LED lights onto the lid of a glass preserve jar. When charged in direct sunlight for 4 to 6 hours, it gives off the same amount of light when activated. If you missed it at the Design Indaba Expo, it can be bought at Melissa’s in Cape Town or the Consol store in Stellenbosch.
The Botany Project info@upcycleflowerlamp.com www.thebotanyproject.com
The Central City’s ELLE Decoration included a great idea for a unique display case using the Consol Solar Jar in their spring edition: Putting a small object or found image inside the jar while it charges in direct sunlight. Handmade by community ceramicists and part of the CCDI Handmade Collection 2012, the Upcycle Flower Lamp was launched at this year’s Design Indaba Expo.
Photos: Bruce Sutherland, City of Cape Town
Consol Solar Jar info@upcycleflowerlamp.com @Consol_Glass www.solarjar.co.za
green city
Designing a city to sustain us With all the pressure to “go green”, the word “sustainable” has become quite the buzzword as of late. So you’ve started recycling, and you’ve switched your old light bulbs out for new energy-efficient ones. That’s sustainable, right? By Andrew Fleming
I
n his book titled Sustaining Cape Town: Imagining a Liveable City, Professor Mark Swilling at the University of Stellenbosch argues that recycling is only one part of a much bigger concept of sustainability. Making Cape Town into a truly sustainable urban environment requires a much broader view of the way our city works, how we use our land, how resources flow in and out of our city, and what infrastructure we use to make that happen. In order to get a better understanding of what Capetonians need to do in order to make our city more sustainable, City Views sat down with Mark to find out exactly what he sees when he thinks about a sustainable Cape Town. “Sustainability isn’t only about going green, but about what we do, and how we do it – our daily activities,” Mark says. “We’re all on the infrastructure grid, a fact we can’t escape: Energy, water, sanitation, and mobility are all controlled by structures outside our control. But what is in our control is how much of those resources we use.” When our city’s infrastructure was designed, Mark explains, engineers weren’t required to think about what resources cost consumers, or about the depletion of those
resources. Now we need to re-think those systems and re-design and retrofit them. Designing creative solutions to mixeduse, inner-city housing properties can help make use of land closer to town – Mark here points directly to District Six—and promote a healthy level of densification needed for sustainability. This will help to leave land on the urban edge free for more sustainable
“Sustainability isn’t only about going green, but about what we do, and how we do it – our daily activities,” Mark Swilling
uses, like food farming for local consumption. Densification will also reduce transport times in and out of the city promoting shorter and more cost-effective trips for commuters, many of whom currently spend around 20% of their income on transportation alone. Those aren’t the only spin-offs of being more sustainable, Mark explains. As more people come into a denser city centre to live, work, and play, a new and powerful economic connection will form: “When you’re talking about consumer demand and
spending, it’s not the rich that are reliable: It’s the middle and lower-middle classes that make the economic differences on demand and production. If you diversify social mix of the inner city and increase investment in denser multi-storey housing, it creates a whole lot of other markets for retail and manufacturing that don’t exist at the moment.” What can companies start doing to create this economic connection? “They should look to be based closer to where staff live and key transportation hubs (like the Cape Town Station and BRT network). This way, employees can minimise their commutes and help to cut down on carbon emissions.”
If you’re interested in reading more, Sustaining Cape Town can be bought here: Clarke’s Books 211 Long Street / T: 021 423 5739 www.clarkesbooks.co.za The Book Lounge 71 Roeland Street / T: 021 462 2425 www.booklounge.co.za
ENOUGH. FOR ALL. FOREVER Mark Swilling is one of over 50 dynamic African business leaders, entrepreneurs, politicians and artists set to speak at Sustain our Africa, a sustainability conference coming to Cape Town this September. The topic of debate? How Africa can have enough, for all, forever. And Sustain our Africa isn’t just about debate: Not only will conference delegates be equipped with tools for change – to use in their classrooms, their boardrooms, their backyards. But Sustain our Africa’s Festival for Change will take to the streets of Cape Town – with film, food, performance, music and fashion – as a way to raise awareness outside conference walls.
Stay tuned for details: Sustain Our Africa @SOAafrica www.sustainourafrica.org
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on the town
CityViews CityViews
March 2012
Upcycling in the city: The view on vintage The mantra of reduce, reuse, recycle can be applied to the wardrobe as well: Sporting secondhand and vintage clothing is one way of taking part in a global effort to minimise the negative impact of manufacturing – and the bonus of saving a few bucks and developing a unique personal style doesn’t hurt either. By Caroline Jordan
F
ashion designer Thoki Tafeni, winner of the 2011 FASTRACK competition by Foschini and African Fashion International, frequents the secondhand stores and vintage boutiques popping up around town – and was kind enough to take City Views on a tour. “I like the whole thing of reinventing style. Looking at items made so many years ago, worn in a completely different way, and then styling them up with accessories to make them original is great,” says Thoki on combining her love for fresh fashion and vintage shopping.
“Cape Town is one of those places in the world – you’ll never find another locale with so much flavour. There’s an energy you can’t find anywhere else.” Thoki Tafeni
For accessories, and that one-off item no one else has:
For frocks, footwear and belts:
“Babettes on Church has an awesome selection of secondhand shoes, as well as beautiful belts and handbags. Barbara Lötter stocks a great line of reworked vintage dresses.” For fabulous formal wear and full-on glamour:
“If you want something totally unique for a special event, Afraid of Mice is the spot to go. As owners Bianca and Simone Brandi say, it is truly full of the clothes you wish your mother had kept for you.”
“I like the whole thing of reinventing style. Looking at items made so many years ago, worn in a completely different way, and then styling them up with accessories to make them original is great” Thoki Tafeni
VINTAGE SHOPPING Want to spend an afternoon hunting for fabulous finds? Here’s Thoki’s guide to Central City secondhand and vintage shopping.
Afraid of Mice 86 Long Street T: 021 423 7353 www.afraidofmice.com Babette Clothing 41 Church Street T: 021 424 4457 www.babetteclothing. blogspot.com Dr Pachanga 210 Long Street T: 076 557 1163 http://elementofsuprize. blogspot.com Glitterati 172 Long Street T: 82 819 5247 Hello Again 219 Long Street T: 021 426 0242 www.helloagainshop.blogspot. com Journey 186 Long Street T: 021 424 5209 www.journeylifestyle.co.za
Long Street Antique Arcade 27 Long Street T: 021 423 3585 Rock Paper Scissors 120 Bree Street T: 082 925 1379 Second Time Around 196 Long Street T: 21 423 1674 Seventies 80s Store 89 Church Street T: 084 663 0846 seventies80sinfo@gmail.com Photos: Caroline Jordan and Richard Aaron, Muti
“Second Time Around is a jackpot, with all kinds of good stuff from glamorous vintage jewellery to cool shirts and dresses that can be styled up with a fun belt.”
You, Me, & Everyone We Know Market Friday evenings 68 Orange Street T: 021 424 5927 www. meandeveryoneweknow. co.za
For more of Thoki’s take on fashion, design and style, follow her on Twitter: @Thoki_Tafeni
Thoki in one of her favourite vintage stores, Afraid of Mice. (top left and right) Toys to take you back in time from Rock Paper Scissors. (bottom)
March 2012
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CityViews
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Clarke’s & Clarke’s: A taste of the good stuff After you’ve worked up an appetite scouring the best in secondhand books at Clarke’s on Long Street, head to the other Clarke’s – Clarke’s Bar and Dining Room on Bree – where meat is a treat. This burger aficionado’s heaven puts a local spin on an allAmerican diner feel and the fresh into fast food. By Caroline Jordan
1. Take the jazz train The 13th annual Cape Town International Jazz Festival kicks off in free and famous style on 28 March with the people’s concert, when Greenmarket Square will resound with Siphamandla “Spha” Bembe, Hip Hop Pantsula and Dave Koz from 17h00. Soul food isn’t the only thing that’s free that night: Metrorail is offering complementary fare to all concert-goers – as if you needed a better reason to take the jazz train. The official festival takes place at the CTICC on 30 and 31 March, and includes a showstopping performance of Mama Afrika – a tribute to Miriam Makeba – by Hugh Masekela, Vusi Mahlasela, Thandiswa Mazwai and Zolani Mahola. Don’t miss it!
2.
Jazz up City Hall
The grand dame of Cape Town plays host to Senegal’s Ismaël Lô
and Gugulethu’s Azania Ghetto Sounds on the eve of Human Rights Day, 20 March, as part of the second installment of City Hall Sessions. Funded by the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund (NLDTF) and produced by Creative Cape Town, City Hall Sessions bring contemporary sounds from across the globe into the historic heart of the city.
“The Cape Town International Jazz Festival does not only expose audiences to a wide array of the best international and local music, the event also contributes to providing a larger skills base in the creative sector which helps in sustaining the creative industries in South Africa.” Paul Mashatile
Lyndall – but that doesn’t stop them. “We use glass wherever possible and return deposits, plus we separate everything and take it to the recycling depot.” Clarke’s is also home to an eyecatching vertical garden, designed by Greg Nicolson and Steven Miedema of Garden Up, and featuring 87 indigenous, water-wise plants: “Seeing so many pots with healthy plants next to each other is very rewarding every time we come to the restaurant,” says Greg, a Clarke’s regular. Designer Liam Mooney collaborated with Lyndall on designing
Get your post-book burger fix: Clarke’s Bar and Dining Room 133 Bree Street T: 021 424 7648 @ClarkesDining www.clarkesdining.co.za Grow your own vertical garden: Garden Up T: 072 211 9843 www.gardenup.co.za
3. Stage a silent revolution If you can’t wait until the end of March to feel the music, stop by the Mahogany Room for an intimate jazz experience. Owners Lee Thomson, Lawson Naidoo and Kesivan Naidoo have recreated a New Yorkstyle jazz venue right here in the Mother City where local musicians can showcase their talent.
Photo: Jonx Pillemer
Food might sustain the body, but music sustains the soul. And this March in the Mother City, there’s ample to inspire.
Lyndall Maunder
Jazz Festival The people’s concert is free, otherwise tickets for the official line-up are R400 for a single day pass, R550 for a two-day pass, and available through Computicket. www.capetownjazzfest.com City Hall Sessions Tickets are R80 and available from Computicket. For the latest details on City Hall Sessions, go to: www.cityhallsessions.co.za The Mahogany Room 79 Buitenkant Street Wednesday to Friday, 19h00 to 02h00 T: 076 679 2697 www.facebook.com/ MahoganyRoom
Photo: Sydelle Willow Smith
March in the Mother City: Your month of music
“I love Bree Street. I thank my lucky stars every day that the other spaces fell through.”
the restaurant, and says, “The main idea was to create a simple, honest space that wasn’t overly conceptual or style-based.” The furniture and stools were constructed from locally grown, Forest Stewardship Council-approved South African pine. And Lyndall’s chosen location – will it keep her in the city? “I love Bree Street. I thank my lucky stars every day that the other spaces fell through.”
Photo: Stefan Hurter, courtesy of Cape Town Tourism
Photos: Caroline Jordan
Owner Lyndall Maunder, formerly of Superette in Woodstock, sources her ingredients from the best local suppliers available: Fresh produce is delivered daily, with an emphasis on seasonal, locally farmed products; roasted coffee comes fresh from Deluxe; and meats are provided by Bill Riley Meats, who source their beef from the Spier biodiversity farm. “Bill Riley is a generations-old family business that is now run by two of the Riley brothers,” says Lyndall. “They are on a quest to bring the best quality free-range beef to people, and what they’re doing is really special stuff.” Trevor Daly – of the aptly named Daly Bread – stops by every morning with burger buns, and his potato and ciabatta breads are about to debut on the menu: “You’re going to have to taste the Trevor Daly magic for yourself,” Lyndall says. Cokes are served in glass bottles because Clarke’s is serious about recycling: “It’s hard to do,” says
Cape Town’s new jazz heart, The Mahogany Room (top) Gang of Instrumentals, who performed at last year’s people’s concert (left). Thandiswe Mazwai and Chico César at the last City Hall Session (right)
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my
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CityViews
Photos: Caroline Jordan
My Cape Town:
March 2012
Gabeba Baderoon
Gabeba Baderoon is a poet, an academic, a feminist, who moves between here and Pennsylvania, where she teaches women’s studies at Penn State University. She speaks about space, spirituality, identity, beauty – and Cape Town. CV Gabeba, you travel between America and South Africa a lot. What’s your relationship to this city? I think of myself as profoundly shaped by Cape Town. I lived in the same house for almost 30 years, in the same neighbourhood, hearing the same sounds, and seeing the same view of the mountain. The city has shaped me in really central ways, and created a consciousness that made it possible for me to create poetry. At the same time you can also have an upside down relationship with the place you love, and certainly Cape Town has also been a complicated place. So it contains both meanings for me.
Your poetry expresses so much about both home and longing, about this city … I was awarded a fellowship abroad in 1999, and I think you can say it was the shock of leaving that started my poetry. It made visible to me what had seemed so normal, so ordinary. What I learned is that poetry allows you to be in a place, calls it up for you in ways that are immediate CV
and concrete. Abroad, I began reimagining the sounds I’d heard in Cape Town, the elements of the world I had left behind. I’d recreate those in the moments before falling asleep. Many of my early poems came from notes about such memories in my diary. Later on, my writing changed. Poetry doesn’t allow you to get away with simply repeating things that have worked in the past. Every poem is new, and asks you to follow almost impossibly fragile threads of perceptions and ideas. But when it works, it gives you an incredibly subtle and honest experience of the world. The Cape Town in my poems was not the city I had left, but one in which I could taste both familiarity and loss.
“When I tell people where I’m from, I try to convey the city beyond the image. To me, this place has an extraordinary serenity and beauty. Its beauty is spiritual. Beauty is not just a shallow diversion for tourists – it’s an incredible resource. “ What is it about Cape Town that it still has a hold on you? When I tell people where I’m from, I try to convey the city beyond the image. To me, this place has an extraordinary serenity and beauty. Its beauty is spiritual. Beauty is not just a shallow diversion for tourists – it’s an incredible resource. I learned that during the 1980s from my history teacher at Livingstone, Mr Harvey Hendricks. Those were dangerous times and Mr HenCV
Straatwerk has job rehabilitation projects for men and women. 021 425 0140 The Haven’s vision is to get the homeless home. 021 425 4700 The Homestead provides residential care and family integration for boys. 021 461 7470
Ons Plek provides residential care while undertaking reunification process for girls. 021 465 4829 The Carpenters Shop provides rehabilitation services and skills training for adults. 021 461 5508 Salesian Institute Youth Projects provide education, skills training and rehabilitation to vulnerable youth. 021 425 1450
Gabeba in one of her favourite places in Cape Town – the Company’s Garden
the way home
dricks taught us the full, forbidden version of our country’s past, and he also insisted on telling us that we lived in one of the most beautiful places in the world, second to none, and that it could be ours. I’ve never forgotten that lesson, that the right to savour loveliness is part of what we fought for, and that beauty is a great public resource, something to take unashamed and democratic joy in. You did your PhD on the image of Islam in South Africa through history. How do you feel Islam is represented and understood now? Under 2% of our national population is Muslim, and on coming back here I’m struck by how hospitable, rich and inclusive South African culture is. If you go into a local Pick n Pay, you’ll see Happy Diwali signs as much as you’ll see Eid or Christmas ones. I feel such a sense of belonging here. I think the fact that we’re able to have a conception of our national culture that includes an ordinary acceptance of Islam is wonderful. I’m completely at home here in the fullest expression of who I am. I think of Cape Town as a model – especially for other places where the quesCV
tion of Islam has become fraught. I’m fascinated by images of Islam in South Africa, in paintings, literature, diaries – there are remarkable stories of our country’s history. CV Any Cape Town writers you can really recommend to our readers? Rustum Kozain, who was a colleague of mine at UCT, and has been a friend for longer, the author of This Carting Life. His work reminds me how far along the path I have to go. I’d also recommend Shaida Ali’s brilliant debut novel Not A Fairy-Tale. I’m eager to see her latest, Lessons in Husbandry, as well as Imraan Coovadia’s new novel, The Institute for Taxi Poetry, which is set in Cape Town. In fact, there are a host of very good city writers – please look for them at the bookstores and the literature festivals.
Gabeba’s poetry – A Hundred Silences and The Dream in the Next Body – can be found at the Book Lounge at 71 Roeland Street. Otherwise walk into her world: www.gabeba.com
Find an intersection. Turn a map to match the angle of the street. This might mean the book will be upside down Find the way home. Gabeba Baderoon
Infecting THE City Hear Gabeba’ poetry fall from city rooftops this March: As part of Diana Page’s Ek Sê, a global trilogy spoken over rooftops in Istanbul, New York and now Cape Town, Gabeba will perform alongside local artist Julia Raynham, opera singer Hlenghiwe Mkhwanazi, and Turkish dancer Ziya Azazi (a master of the traditional Sufi whirling dervish dance techniques). 7 and 9 March at 16h30 at the Station Precinct 8 March at 16h15 on Long Street
Many children and young adults living on the streets have severe drug addiction problems. More often than not, the money they receive from begging is used to buy their next “fix”. The CCID therefore requests that members of the public do not give money or handouts directly. If you would like to help, please contact one of the listed organisations mentioned. Contact the Central City Improvement District’s (CCID’s) Social Development Department for further information or assistance.
Pat 021 419 1881 | Dean 082 928 3862 Headman Sirala-Rala 082 262 0113 Mark Williams 082 262 0112
www.capetownpartnership.co.za