2019 SAIA-KZN Awards for Architecture

Richard Dobson Architect, in partnership with AeT, received a Special Mention for Work of Social Importance. Recognising the significance of urban design that impacts positively on some of the poorest and most vulnerable workers. Despite the City providing basic infrastructure for the Mealie Cooks, a major challenge lies in the current cooking method of using … Read more

Kanyenathi (and Newsletters)

The Kanyenathi project, in which traders were trained to identify and prioritise their infrastructure needs, was carried out over 3 years and ended in 2017. Having identified their needs, the intention was to then enable a process for the informal workers to engage with the City on an ongoing basis. Whilst the research project is now … Read more

The Meaning of Asiye eTafuleni: an Intern Perspective

Emma Castaños & Teresa de Figueiredo (Feature image: Phumelele Mkhize) Smiling faces, cake, and sparkling juice greeted us at our first staff meeting. The Asiye eTafuleni (AeT) team had put together a small celebration; not for us, the newly arrived MIT group, but for the service of Lihle on her last day of work. Lihle … Read more

Kanyenathi: Presenting the Audit Findings

Tasmi Quazi On December 2015, Asiye eTafuleni (AeT) presented the findings of the participatory Infrastructure Audit conducted by a research team of largely trained informal workers (also referred to as traders), assisted by researchers and AeT staff earlier in the year. 23 informal worker representatives from 3 significant informal economy districts selected for the Kanyenathi … Read more

Kanyenathi: Organisational Reflections on the Participatory Infrastructure Audit

Tasmi Quazi Kanyenathi, the Comic-Relief funded project of three years to be implemented across three informal economy districts in Durban, kicked off in October 2014 with a series of community meetings. From January till July 2015, a major project activity – which was the training for and implementation of the infrastructure audit – was completed. … Read more