AET 
Rebecca Plumbley There are approximately 700 bead sellers in Warwick, the majority of whom are women. Most of the bead sellers are from areas outside of Durban such as Ndwedwe and Umzinyathi. They work in family units in their homesteads- coming in to the city on Fridays to sell their wares. In part, this is … Read more
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
Rebecca Plumbley On Sunday the 29th of July a fire burnt around a third of the Traditional Herb and Medicine Market. Video with permission from a known source. The Traditional Herb and Medicine Market is comprised of 289 permitted traders selling traditional medicine in the form of herbs, roots, dried plants, bulbs and bark. In … Read more
Claire Singer and Tasmi Quazi Influential street trader John Makwicana passed away from a lingering illness on March 7, 2018, at the age of 71. John was an inspiring figure amongst Durban’s inner-city community of informal workers, where he worked as an informal trader for 21 years. He served as the chairperson of Traders Against … Read more
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
Tasmi Quazi Founded in mid-1997, Women in Informal Employment: Globalising and Organising (WIEGO) has been a pioneer in advocating for and with informal workers at numerous levels – in shaping new and innovative approaches to research, organising, policy formulation and development practice. 2017 marks WIEGO’s 20th year of existence which is being celebrated by … Read more
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
By Erik Lønne As elsewhere in the greater Durban area and the rest of the province, the storm of 10 October was felt with full force in the Warwick Junction and the Central Business District. What started out as any other day, quickly turned into chaos and destruction through the morning and afternoon hours, considered … Read more
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
