Tasmi Quazi worked in the development field for over 10 years within local government, academic institutions, architectural firms and the NGO sector. She is a master’s graduate of Development Studies with research and experiential background in architecture, community-based development, governance and informality. As Asiye eTafuleni’s (AeT) Research Officer since 2009, she has been merging aspects of design training with the field of development research and implementation. In 2013, she was recognised as Mail & Guardian’s Top 200 Young South Africans for her role at AeT.
Phumelele Mkhize is an architect and researcher. She worked for Asiye eTafuleni from 2015 to 2019, initially as a collaborator on the Kanyenathi Project, and then their in-house project assistant. She is passionate about design driven by community action and collaboration, and is an advocate for inclusive design strategies.
Nonhlanhla Nyandeni was the Markets of Warwick Coordinator within Asiye eTafuleni (AeT) from 2015 until 2017. She also provided social facilitation and project support. Nonhlanhla holds a B. Tech degree in marketing with 10 years of experience working as a local government employee at eThekwini Municipality. Her work experience with the municipality involved 4 years within the renowned Warwick Junction Project under the department, inner-Thekwini Regeneration and Urban Management Programme (iTRUMP) -which makes her familiar and known to the communities AeT works with.
Internships at Asiye eTafuleni
AeT has hosted a number of highly skilled and passionate students and professionals that have volunteered their time and skills for fixed periods and assigned to specific projects of interest. AeT is steadily becoming a portal for students and professionals seeking work experience in the development realm of the informal economy.
GENERAL INTERNS
Erik Lønne , a PhD candidate of social anthropology, completed his fieldwork in Durban. During 2017-2018 he was doubling as an intern and researcher, and returned for a period in 2019. As an intern, Erik assisted with project work and website content. Erik’s research project on the other hand looks closer at the everyday practice and organisational culture within AeT. Furthermore, the project seeks to describe the organisation’s specific project processes within the methodological frame of inclusive urban design, and how this is a part of the creation of space and place making in the informal economy.
Monwabisi Tibe is a Master’s Student in Public Policy with a bachelor’s degree in Geography and Environmental Management. He is working as an intern for Asiye eTafuleni on a part-time basis since 2015, personally motivated to serve informal workers like his mother, who has been supporting him by working informally in the food and fresh produce sector for over 15 years. He is passionate to work as a Policy Analyst in the development field and make the voices of communities heard in development policy making and implementation strategies. He believes that community participation in development programmes that affect their lives should be a cornerstone towards building responsible and successful communities.
ARCHITECTURE INTERNS
Roanne Moodley worked at AeT from September 2017 to December 2017 as an intern. She is a Durbanite and joined AeT to learn from its interdisciplinary, process heavy approach to urban design and from Warwick’s systems and spatial manifestations. She worked primarily on the ‘Public lavatories project’, refining technical solutions for an enhanced co-management systems of public toilets. She also wrote articles for AeT exploring methods of communicating information about and experiences of participative design in informal contexts. Her time with the office has sensitized her to the informal economy and exposed her to a holistic and integrated work environment and attitude. She is currently doing her Masters in Architecture at the University of Johannesburg focusing on transformative narratives in South African public spaces.
Andrew Chaveas was an intern with AeT from March to May 2010 as part of a study abroad program for his Bachelors of Architecture degree. During his practicum with AeT, Andrew engaged in community-led design process with the impepho and lime traders to understand their harvesting process, analyze the limitations of the existing market space, and generate designs addressing the infrastructural and storage issues voiced by the community. The immersive time spent at AeT went on to influence Andrew’s thesis studies at Philadelphia University, where he explored the potential for informal traders to engage with a rapidly expanding digital marketplace. Currently, Andrew resides and works in Baltimore as an architect, where he continues to promote community-led design and inclusive development as the most effective response to the years of disinvestment and marginalization.
Dorothee Huber was an architectural student from Vienna, Austria, who worked with AeT from October to December 2015 as an intern, and is currently finishing her Masters degree in Architecture. Her motivations for choosing AeT were since architectural processes in the informal economy formed the basis for her thesis work, and from personal development and interest. She had the opportunity to support AeT in the following 2 projects: (1) the Amplify Challenge, an idea competition with the topic ‘How might urban slum communities become more resilient to the effects of climate change?’, and (2) the Kanyenathi Project, a programme to enable informal workers from three informal economy markets districts to understand and participate in development processes. During her time at AeT, she gained a deeper knowledge of the challenges of working in an NGO office and feels that her stay in Durban and at AeT enriched her sensibility towards informality and the informal economy – particularly about the process of design and social responsibility. AeT made her understand it’s importance and strength behind this premise.
Lieke van der Wijk was a Master’s architecture student, specialising in construction management and engineering. Through her Master’s studies she worked to transcend the more pragmatic boundaries of the building, lending her focus and expertise to the creation of public urban spaces where the wider community comes together. Lieke worked as an intern with Asiye eTafuleni from April to June of 2017. As her central area of focus, she worked closely on the renovation of the Bovine Head Market, where the planning and implementation of new stoves remains of the main tasks. Read about Lieke’s time with AeT here.
MARKETS OF WARWICK INTERNS
Lihle Nyawo held the position as intern at Asiye eTafuleni through the year of 2015. During her time with the organisation she was involved in social facilitation, project and administrative support. More interestingly, Lihle has been an informal worker for the last 9 years working as a hair dresser based in Warwick Junction’s Brook Street Market, where she runs a successful enterprise known as “Lihle’s Salon”. She has also been conducting tours through Warwick Junction as a trained Markets of Warwick Tour guide since December 2010.
Mxolisi Henry Cele grew up in Warwick junction helping his family manning their stalls, and joined AeT from Berea Station as a project assistant intern in February 2012 to January 2013. Of the time with AeT, Mxolisi says, «I assisted the AeT team on project administration, defective infrastructure maintenance, volunteered with SAIWA, assisted the Street Law team, helped facilitate the IEMS study by WIEGO and AeT, and offered technical support to the office with help of the AeT Team». He notices that his public and community participation skills were uplifted and learned that the best way to design infrastructure for the public is to consult the community during inception to make them feel as custodians of the end product.
Lindeni Promise Toe Shozi is a Markets of Warwick Tour guide and a beadwork artisan at Warwick Junction’s Bead Market. Toe has been working in beadwork design and trading for over ten years. In 2010, she joined the community project Markets of Warwick Tour and was selected as the Bead Market representative for tour guide training. She has been conducting tours through the 9 Markets of Warwick since December 2010. In July 2013, Toe joined AeT as an intern. In her work, Toe contributed with her skill and knowledge to AeT through social facilitation support, project support and administrative support. In the future, Toe plans to undertake a Bachelor of Education to and fulfil her dream of becoming a teacher.
SOCIAL WORK INTERNS
Lungisani Dlamini is a 4th year UNISA Bright Site student Social worker who is doing practical work at Asiye eTafuleni started from February 2016 – August 2016 . His work with AeT is based on working with cardboard recyclers by providing the recyclers with counseling and how to do community work.
S’fiso Mbuyazi is currently completing his 4th year practical learning experience as a student social worker at UNISA from February 2016 to 31 August 2016. He is working with the organisation to render services of social work within the Warwick Junction community while using his professional skills and values to communicate with the traders in Warwick Junction in order to get to know their social ills. With the help of AeT staff members he is hoping to empower community members with valued information and enable them to deal with social challenges they face e.g identity documents were issued with my assistance and some individuals proceeded with hospital appointments. He has also helped with research about barrow operators. S’fiso feels that he had a great opportunity and honour to work with AeT’s supportive staff, and with their professional and personal guidance I am working at Durban regional UNISA offices as fixed term contract currently. AeT is my home and will remain my home! Long live AeT Long live!
Kayakazi Mngomeni, better known as Khaya, is a Student Social Worker studying through UNISA. Since February 2016, she has been doing her practicals with AeT and working closely with the cardboard recyclers under the mentorship of Patrick Ndlovu who is a Social Facilitator at AeT. One of the projects that she is involved in is the confiscations of the recyclables of the cardboard recyclers and is working closely with the Legal Resources Centre (LRC) as well as providing counselling services to the cardboard recyclers. Khaya feels that it has been a great honor and privilege to work with different professionals equipped with the necessary expertise and that the ways that she expresses herself, as well as her research and presentation skills, have improved immensely through AeT`scoaching and mentoring.
Sphamandla Lindani Nkosi is a social work student who is currently working with the informal workers at mealie cookers markets, bead market and the early morning market. He helps to provides counselling to the community and assistance where necessary with the guidance of Mr Patrick Ndlovu as his contact person. He has assisted some of the community m,embers through finding assistance from other institutions around the city of Durban. At this time, he is in the process of implementing a project with the community of mealie cookers that will be based on mealie husks.
Liso Nobanda is a student social worker who is working with the community of mealie cookers and barrow operators at Early morning market and Bead market. He is planning with community of barrow operators on implementing the project of repairing the barrows and trying to engage with the municipality to get the community some safety vests so that they can be easily noticed when crossing the road.
