Staff Profile: Project Leader

By Tasmi Quazi Richard Dobson is the co-founder and Project Leader of Asiye eTafuleni.  He is an architect by profession, and based on his integral involvement in urban regeneration work in Durban’s inner-city since 1996, he co-authored the book “Working in Warwick: Including Street Traders in Urban Plans”.  Furthermore, he has been invited to a … Read more

Pro Brono Legal Services for ‘Informal’ Traders

By Tasmi Quazi The Warwick Junction informal trading community and Asiye eTafuleni  (AeT) were featured in the May 2012 Issue, Number 22, of the ProBono.Org  newsletter.  ProBono. Org is a non-governmental organisation that works with the private legal fraternity to provide pro bono legal services to the poor, through specific identified cases and clients.  Their formation … Read more

“Waste Not Want Not”

Compiled by Tasmi Quazi, based on an article by Patricia McCracken The Inner-city Cardboard Recycling Project  has been profiled in the Autumn 2012 edition of Business in Durban in an article titled “Waste Not Want Not” written by journalist Patricia McCracken and featured on pages 38-40.  She writes primarily about the “Friends of the Recyclers” … Read more

Collaborative Urban Management

By Tasmi Quazi, Mxolisi Cele & Richard Dobson There is a critical benefit which enhanced infrastructure brings to informal workers, such as access to basic shelter and services as water and electricity, and urban management in terms of cleanliness, safety and security.  However, an often neglected aspect of infrastructure provision is the after-care of infrastructure … Read more

Urban utopia of exclusivity versus urban realism of inclusivity: Mall or Market Place?

Written by Tasmi Quazi & Richard Dobson Since 1996, the example of the Warwick Junction urban renewal project in Durban (South Africa) has tested the relationship between public transport, the commensurate footfall and the opportunity that this has afforded to sustaining the livelihoods of nearly 8 000 street traders. In addition, there has been reciprocal … Read more

“Look who’s changing how things are done…”

Compiled by Tasmi Quazi & Richard Dobson The call for nominations for the next round of the Investing in the Future and Drivers of Change Awards was a reminder of Asiye eTafuleni’s (AeT) recognised significance as a contributor to systemic change. Under the compelling article title above, AeT was solely profiled as winners of the Civil Society Award … Read more

A Positive Story of Street Justice

By Tasmi Quazi, Pictures taken by Prakash Bhika, Tasmi Quazi & Dennis Stols Asiye eTafuleni (AeT) has been working closely with two groups of inner-city cardboard recyclers on the Imagine Durban Cardboard Recycling Project since 2009. One of the groups in Palmer Street consists of both male and female recyclers. Through the project process, it … Read more

The Changing Face of Business

Photograph & article written by Saffron Baggallay, Compiled by Tasmi Quazi Reflecting on her experience of the Markets of Warwick Junction on 17 April 2012, Saffron Baggallay shares some very perceptive thoughts on the role of the informal economy on TomorrowToday’s blog. She writes: “…Whilst I was wondering around this magical place, contemplating all that … Read more

Designing with Informal Workers – AeT’s experience

Tasmi Quazi On the 4th of April 2012, Asiye eTafuleni (AeT) with the support of the KwaZulu-Natal Institute of Architects (KZNIA) conducted a day-long course including an exposure tour of Warwick Junction, based on the subject “Designing with Informal Workers Utilising Public Spaces”. This was an exclusive course for architects, urban designers and planners, which … Read more