Richard Dobson & Tasmi Quazi The Early Morning Market (EMM) has been in the Durban’s Warwick Junction precinct for 88 years and in existence for a further 24 years. That in in itself was a cause for celebration for this year’s national heritage day on 24 September. During the Union of International Architects (UIA) … Read more
Tasmi Quazi “Durban had been wrong to try to close down the Warwick Junction market and move traders into a new mall. It stopped listening to its own people before international input in the run-up to the 2010 World Cup (…) The 2010 World Cup in a lot of ways damaged our city… and one … Read more
Tasmi Quazi On Monday the 11th of August, at the 9th Diakonia Lecture and presentation of the human rights award given to “local heroes”, Asiye eTafuleni’s (AeT) Project Leader was chosen as the 2014 recipient of this significant award for advancing the human rights of informal workers, particularly in Warwick Junction. He was … Read more
Tasmi Quazi Warwick Junction, and accordingly its community of informal workers and the Asiye eTafuleni (AeT) team, is abuzz in preparation for the 25th Union of International Architects (UIA) world congress. The congress itself will be held in Durban at the International Convention Centre from August 3, 2014 to August 7, 2014. Unsurprisingly, the dynamic … Read more
Tasmi Quazi After unloading nearly 300 kilograms worth paper and cardboard recyclables stuffed into eThekwini municipal official, Pumla Jali’s car, her equally fatigued colleague, Caili Forrest exclaimed “It always seems impossible until it’s done!” These are the words of the legendary Nelson Mandela who inspired the act of 67-minutes of social service on the date … Read more
Laura Alfers and Tasmi Quazi In isiZulu “phephanathi” means “be safe with us.” The Phephanathi Project aims to make the informal trading area of Warwick Junction more secure and healthy for traders, customers and people passing through, and the officials who manage it. The project is a partnership between Asiye eTafuleni, Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing … Read more
Richard Dobson & Tasmi Quazi There has been renewed media interest in AeT’s Inner-City Cardboard Recycling Project which has been featured in one of South Africa’s premium financial newspapers, Business Day, on 24 March 2014 in Page 7. The article written by Patricia McCracken focuses on the socio-economic benefits of informal recycling as a livelihood … Read more
Tasmi Quazi 1st of March marks International Waste Pickers’ Day, in memory of the massacre in Colombia in which 11 waste pickers were brutally killed at the University of Barranquilla. For the past 21 years since this horrific event, waste pickers/informal recyclers have continued fighting for recognition of their work. Although the day is marked … Read more
Patrick Ndlovu & Tasmi Quazi AeT’s role within the development of the Dennis Hurley Centre linked to the historic Emmanuel Cathedral – situated at the heart of Durban’s inner city – is to ensure the inclusion of informal workers in the precinct throughout the process. AeT’s primary role has been to facilitate better engagement between … Read more
