Sarah Heneck The coronavirus (COVID-19) has made its way swiftly to all corners of the world and into all communities, but this pandemic disproportionately affects the most vulnerable members of society, in both health and economic terms (the latter will be the focus of this blog-post). Durban’s inner-city informal workers are some of most vulnerable … Read more
Rhonda Douglas The lime and impepho (herb incense) market in Warwick Junction offers a cool respite from the heat of a Durban summer. Tables piled high with balls of chalky white lime and bundles of dry herbs line the open space as traders and customers pass by along a walkway through the centre. Sunlight filters … Read more
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Rebecca Plumbley This blog post is the 2nd part of the story of the Mealie Cooks; read part 1 here. The cooking process of mealies involves placing 13 dozen mealies in a 200l steel drum with 40-50L water and 45g of bicarbonate of soda. This is then covered with a piece of plastic and left … Read more
Rebecca Plumbley Several variables have an impact on the livelihoods of informal workers- one such factor that Asiye eTafuleni has noted is the implications of the seasons, which have an influence on resource availability. In times when their supply is low traders cannot easily diversify what they sell as they are likely to then be … Read more
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
Kara van Schilfgaarde & Tasmi Quazi As an intern at Asiye eTafuleni (AeT), Kara was given the opportunity to engage with the women of “Senzokwethu”, a group of informal traders who run a soup kitchen every morning for the patients of the Centre for Communicable Diseases based in Warwick Junction. As an act of community … Read more
Tasmi Quazi Local Durban blogger, Jenna Kelly, visited the Markets of Warwick Tours and captured her experience through a candid narrative and a strikingly studied array of images in her blog, The Girl with a Bum. She writes: If anyone had ever told me that one day I’d be prancing around the depths of Warwick … Read more
By Tasmi Quazi Patrick Ndlovu is the co-founder and Senior Project Officer of Asiye eTafuleni (AeT). Due to his extensive experience of working with informal workers, in Durban’s inner-city in particular, he is regarded as one of the most skilled social facilitators globally within the development domain of the informal economy. Below is a personal … Read more
