“Qeda usizi” end our suffering: improving the lives of street cooks – Part 1.

Phumelele Mkhize and Trang Luu Freshly cooked mealies (corn-on-the-cob) are an essential Durban street food staple – they’re healthy, affordable and conveniently accessible to the local commuter population. Over the years, the preparation of mealies in the inner city has developed incrementally- from the hazard of large open fire cooking on city pavements, to a designated site … Read more

Human Factors and Informal Work

Rebecca Plumbley In continuing the partnership between Rhodes University and Asiye eTafuleni, further anthropometric work is currently being conducted by a masters student in Warwick. AeT is encouraged that work is being done to understand some of the finer grained challenges faced by informal workers. Anthropometry refers to the proportions of the human body and … Read more

Sensitizing Informal Workers to Hearing Health

Rebecca Plumbley Last week students and educators from the University of KwaZulu-Natal held hearing screenings and diagnostic testing with around 50 informal workers in Warwick Junction, as part of a greater socio-sonic research project. This is aligned to Asiye eTafuleni’s hearing preservation programme and continued interest in health, occupational safety and social protection. UKZN students … Read more

Exciting Infrastructure Project for Waste Pickers- Under Construction

Rebecca Plumbley Informal recycling is a well-established activity in Durban. Recycling paper and cardboard is an important element in the domestic paper-making industry,[1] as well as being vital to the government’s green economy strategy. Waste pickers salvage cardboard in public spaces as well as from local shops with whom they have developed relationships; they then … 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

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

Putting occupational health and safety first for informal workers: A profile of MaDlamini

Annalise Mathers & Tasmi Quazi MaDlamini, also known as Zodwa Khumalo, is a figurehead and matriarch in Warwick Junction. At 71 years old, she is one of the most well-known and respected traditional healers, or izinyanga, in the Traditional Medicine or Muthi Market, where over 700 healers and their associates prepare traditional medicine for those … Read more

Mealie Cooks Facility Clean-Up Campaign

Tasmi Quazi On 12 August 2015, with the help of Asiye Etafuleni (AeT), Mealie Cook representatives and eThekwini Municipality’s Durban Solid Waste (DSW) Educational & Waste Minimisation Department, three 1st year Durban Institute of Technology (DUT) students from Public Relations Management implemented a community event which was a clean-up campaign at the Mealie Cooks facility, as … Read more

The Informal Workers Health Project

Written by Laura Alfers. Photo-compilation by Tasmi Quazi. Asiye eTafuleni (AeT) has recently collaborated on a three country project which focused on the access of informal workers to health services. The project was led by Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing (WIEGO), and also included partners in Thailand (HomeNet Thailand) and India (SEWA – … Read more