Creating safer working spaces for women recyclers

Misiwe Maphumulo Street trade is pervasive and a source of employment and income for many urban dwellers. WIEGOs recent /survey shows that 61% of livelihoods are earned through informal work. A secure environment is a prerequisite for formal business, this shouldn’t be any different for the informal sectors. Everywhere informal recyclers experience strong prejudice and … Read more

AeT has broadened their scope of work to respond to evolving urban needs; childcare

Sarah Heneck From an outsider’s perspective, this may seem unrelated to AeTs mandate, which is focused on supporting informal workers livelihoods. However, when one engages more deeply with the informal worker community of Warwick Junction it becomes clear that this community is made up not only of street vendors, market traders, informal recyclers and their … Read more

2019 SAIA-KZN Awards for Architecture

Richard Dobson Architect, in partnership with AeT, received a Special Mention for Work of Social Importance. Recognising the significance of urban design that impacts positively on some of the poorest and most vulnerable workers. Despite the City providing basic infrastructure for the Mealie Cooks, a major challenge lies in the current cooking method of using … Read more

Bovine Head Cooks Part 2: Urban and Ritual Metamorphosis

Rebecca Plumbley This blog post is the 2nd part of the story of the bovine head cooks; read part 1 here. The evolution of the bovine head cooks in Warwick Junction speaks to two interrelated transformations- a physical urban metamorphosis and the urbanisation of rituals and traditions. The bovine head cooks were originally located on … Read more

Bovine Head Cooks Part 1: History and Memory

Rebecca Plumbley Bovine head meat served with steamed bread is a popular meal in Warwick. Cooking involves the cleaving of meat off the skull bones which takes about 30 minutes. The meat is then boiled in a pot for an hour. In Warwick Junction the main consumers of bovine head meat are the porters and … Read more

Umzanyana: a case study for technological innovation among informal workers

The challenge: informal worker mothers   Roanne Moodley 74% of informal workers (or traders) in Sub-Saharan Africa are women (WIEGO). Pregnant women are among the most vulnerable of these, facing socio-economic and physical obstacles to their maternal health throughout their pregnancies. After giving birth, they often have to choose between earning an income to financially … Read more

Africa Architecture Awards 2017- Lessons, reflections and observations

Roanne Moodley Phil Mashabane, the 2017 Africa Architecture Awards ambassador, in his inaugural written piece about this year’s Awards, said  that “Local people take their knowledge for granted; it’s part of their daily lives… This creates important space for dialogue – critical dialogue” This was the first year that the “Critical Dialogue” category was included … Read more

Critical dialogue in the architectural discourse — reflecting on the AAA shortlisting

Erik Lønne At the end of July, Asiye eTafuleni (AeT) were proud to be shortlisted for the inaugural Africa Architecture Awards (AAA), showcasing the vast landscape of design across the African continent. The competition called for entries across four different categories, built, speculative, emerging voices and lastly, critical dialogue. Among three hundred and eight entries … Read more

Reflecting on 2016 and Beyond: Part 2 of 2

Tasmi Quazi This article is the second part of a reflection piece of our work in 2016 and after much deliberation, we selected 16 major events or projects to highlight, much of which is continuing into the present year. Part 1 covered organisation milestones such as new funding support, project achievements particularly those breaking new … Read more