eThekwini Municipality
Ripple Effects of Public Transport Interruptions
Rebecca Plumbley Train services into Durban city centre have been interrupted and are having knock-on effects on informal traders. As part of a vulnerable economic ecosystem, informal workers are not always able to anticipate and mitigate shocks- such as a drastic drop in passing trade due to the lack of trains. The interruption of train … Read more
“Everything was destroyed…we had no savings.”
Rebecca Plumbley Almost a month ago a fire destroyed around a third of the Traditional Herb and Medicine Market- directly impacting 77 traders. Asiye eTafuleni spoke with some of the traders whose goods were burnt in the fire to find out what their experiences of the past month have been: “Everything was destroyed. From the … Read more
From a muddy bank with newsprint to enabling infrastructure
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
Inclusion of Waste Pickers into National and Local Government Plans
By Tasmi Quazi & Richard Dobson Paper presented at the eThekwini-University Research Symposium on 19 September 2012 NPO Asiye eTafuleni (AeT) was commissioned by eThekwini Municipality’s Imagine Durban Project to implement a pilot project to test ways of improving the livelihoods of existing waste pickers operating in Durban, South Africa. By referring to this case … Read more
Reflection on a Field Trip to AeT’s Cardboard Recycling Project
Compiled by Tasmi Quazi As part of its dissemination strategy, Asiye eTafuleni (AeT) has welcomed the challenge of presenting its project work to interested audiences, particularly students. This is because of AeT’s belief that a young audience can influence and contribute significantly to the future assimilation of informal workers into urban environments. Accordingly, close to … Read more
Markets of Warwick Wins a Mayor’s Award for Excellence!
Tasmi Quazi On Friday evening of 7th December 2012, a significant moment and victorious closure to the year was realised for the Markets of Warwick Committee, the informal trading community of Warwick Junction in general, including Asiye eTafuleni (AeT). It was when the Markets of Warwick project received a Mayor’s Awards for Excellence in the … Read more
Press coverage: “Recycling for the Future”
Tasmi Quazi The commendation received by the Inner-City Cardboard Recycling Project at the AfriSam-South African Institute of Architects (SAIA) in October this year was lauded as a great achievement for eThekwini Municipality by journalist Themba Khumalo. This was captured in his article titled “Recycling for the Future” featured in local newspapers, Metro Ezasegagasini in the … Read more
