About Our Project- UT Litha Park

We've finally been making some great progress with our project, and after the first week or so was essentially dead as far as our research goes, it feels great to be making some headway. In order to understand this post a little bit better, I suggest you read by post on informal settlements [here] first to better understand what exactly I'm talking about when I refer to settlements.

So within Khayelitsha, the settlement is broken down into a series of smaller sections, and sometimes, sections broken down even smaller. We've decided to study UT Litha Park- one of the two sections within UT. Here are some quick facts about Litha Park:

• Population: 1,439
• Number of shacks: 432
• Number of taps: 13 [1 tap for every 111 people]
• Number of toilets: 46 [1 toilet for every 31 people]
• Unemployment: 61%

Litha Park is fairly small, much smaller than UT Gardens which makes up the other half of the UT section. My estimation is that Litha Park is probably a 1/4 mile by a 1/4 mile or so, perhaps slightly smaller. I've been forgetting its as small as it is because there are simply so many people living there, and they're living in a maze arraignment, so it takes much longer to get from point A to point B than you'd imagine. 

Litha Park is faced with many of the same problems as nearly all settlements: crime, flooding, fire, unemployment and health epidemics. By settlement standards, Litha Park is pretty advanced. They have water, flush toilets and electricity, which is a world of difference from another settlement we met and considered working with. All the taps and toilets lie among the outside border of the settlement, so to get drinking or washing water, one push go back and forth form the taps with buckets. Another luxury of Litha Park is that it has a community church. The church is probably the size of my bedroom with one lightbulb and a very leaky roof, as we learned this morning, but it steps above what a lot of communities have. My settlements standards, Litha Park is luxurious. By American standards a campground would be a vacation. There is no such thing as heat or air conditioning in the settlements, so no relief from any of the elements. People have equated the weather here to that of San Fransisco, hot in the summers, but very cold and rainy in the winters. I'm actually shocked I haven't gotten sick yet because I've been spending numerous hours a day out in the rain meeting with the community. 

After many days of talking to the community leaders, our group has decided on 4 focus areas: crime, fire, unemployment and child's play. We've been spending our days going out to Litha Park and breaking into small groups with members of the community to hear what they have to say about these issues. We're hoping that our final product can be a list of suggestions for them to address these problems with some solutions that are relatively inexpensive quick fixes and others that are 20 years down the pipeline. We've also been going on a bunch of tours throughout Litha Park to point out various physical and spatial issues. Below are some pictures from one of our tours last week.

Shacks are made from a variety of materials, most commonly corrugated iron and wood. While some are painted for a more cohesive appearance, the majority are a hodge podge of different materials, colors and construction. 

Aside from the three or so main pathways that are much wider, this is about the average width of passageways in Litha Park. 

The rows of toilets on the exterior of the community. It was pointed out to us that the toilets are actually where a significant amount of crime happens because people will wait across the street, watch you go in, and then wait to attack, both personal and property crimes, for you to exit the stall. 

The main corridor three days after a rain storm. 

One of the nicest shacks in Litha Park, in my opinion. 

We've been able to get some really great feedback from residents about these problems. I'm specifically focusing on fire safety, so here are a few tidbits about what we covered in today's session.

• The worst fire in Litha Park was in 2001- 300 houses burned down and 10 were killed in a matter of hours. The fire spread quickly due to the high winds on the Cape Flats, where Khayelitsha is located, and as people were going to help put it out the winds changed and the fire exploded in the opposite direction.
• Most recently, in May 8 homes were burned down. Both of these fires were because a drunk person was cooking and fell asleep. 
• Firetrucks aren't able to fit on the paths in the community, so anytime there is a fire, firefighters must use precious time to lay down pipes to snake through the settlement to reach the fire
• There is no warning system, no smoke detectors, no fire extinguishers. If someone sees smoke, the yell and hope people hear it 
• Most fires happen in December. December is the holidays, and the hottest time of the year, so the combination of dryness and people drinking and celebrating leads to negligence and fires.
• All the taps are outside of the settlement, so if there is a fire, residents must run through a maize to the outside, fill up a bucket, run back, and repeat. The taps also have very low water pressure, which makes filling up a 5 gallon bucket take about 5 minutes.
• Residents estimate that there are 1 to 2 major fires a year. 
• When a fire does happen, often people in nearby houses take as many pieces of their furniture and personal belongings out. With the proximity of these shacks, it's inevitable that if the fire is any closer than 3 or so shacks away that yours will burn down too. As a result, residents scramble to save as much as they can. When this happens most end up losing their belongings anyways because neighboring settlements hear about the fire and come and steal furniture and personal goods. 

Probably the best solution to address all of the varying issues plaguing Litha Park is a process called reblocking. Reblocking is an incredibly complex issue, but in a nutshell it involves coordination between the community and the Cape Town government where shacks will literally be taken apart and rebuilt in a new arrangement that is better for the community. Reblocking generally involves putting shacks on some sort of grid or street system as well as updating the neighborhood. When reblocking happens the city will add water and sewage infrastructure so that each house will get its own tap and toilet inside of the house. Reblocking will also add electricity for those communities who don't have it already. The other huge advantage to reblocking is that the city partners with NGOs in order to get newer, better materials for the shacks. Reconstructed shacks are made out of a corrugated alloy that is much more resistant to fire than the materials being used now. The tricky part of reblocking is taking a very small, cramped space and moving everything around so that streets and courtyards can be created without displacing any residents. Most frequently, this requires shaving small amounts off of each shack in order to contribute to the public space that will be created. Reblocking is a great process, but its still very new, and takes a very long time to organize and carry out. We were lucky enough to be able to visit Flamingo, a settlement that has just started reblocking. We met with the contractor and city planner and actually watched them create the foundation for the first shacks to be rebuilt. Once the planning is done, the actually construction takes very little time as the community members do most of the work, so we'll be stopping by before we go home to see the progress made in Flamingo. 

The Cape Town planner working on the Flamingo settlement reblocking.  

These are the sample shacks built to show the community what a finished shack will look like. They're currently being used to store construction materials until the project is finished, at which point they'll be given to a family. These shacks are 10 square meters- approximately 32 square feet.

This will be the main road/courtyard for Flamingo. As you can see, flooding is a huge issue. Unfortunately most reblocking projects so far don't deal with stormwater or drainage issues, so it's likely that the settlements will still continue to be affected by the storms during rainy season. 

What stands out to me most about the settlements is how much dignity these people have. Their living situation is inadequate by all conventional standards, yet they are going about their lives just as you or I would. Those who aren't employed are usually largely involved in civic life. Litha Park has an elected set of community leaders, as well as numerous committees one can sign up to partake in. All the children are in schools and mothers who stay at home with their young ones are on the lookout to ensure that school aged children are actually going to class each day. Within the settlement there are shops, "bars" and trading spaces. It's really quite amazing how extensive the social organization is within the settlement. Everybody knows everybody, and everyone has one another's backs. They understand that their physical space is challenging, yet make the best out of it and create an incredible sense of community within the settlement. It's so sad to see the reality of their situation (for example, on our tour I saw a marshy area with no homes around it. I asked if people hang out there, as to be it seemed like the perfect place for a patio-like hangout area, but in a tone no different than saying "I want a pb&j" he replied "no, this is where most of the bodies are found" and continued on the tour) but so inspiring to see how they handle it. The whole experience is quite humbling.

The dozen or so residents we're working directly with the most frequently are awesome. There is a fairly large language barrier as they mostly speak Xhosa (one of the tribal "click" language of Africa) but even so, you can just see how happy they are to have us there and how much they want us to understand the reality of their situation. Side note: I learned and can pronounce three of the different clicks the other day, so if you want to know how to pronounce a "q" "ch" or "x" in Xhosa, I can hook you up. Also, today, for the first time, I was able to navigate my way to the community church solo. I had a feeling I could do it, and told one of the leaders, so he ran after me as I skipped away (in my defense, it was pouring) and made it! If I can think of it, I'll try to record the pathway in so you can understand just how big of a victory this is. I also have a temporary mama here. Phezuma has taken me under her wing, calling me "my baby" or "my kate." She's quite territorial, making sure anyone who tries to get too chummy with me knows I'm claimed, but I love it. She's so funny and so very loving. Sorry Ma, that's what you get for sending your kid to Africa, she gets swiped up!

Cape Tour

Today we had probably my favorite day thus far in South Africa, a tour of the cape. For those who aren’t familiar with the geography of Cape Town, here’s a handy map. So Cape Town is up near the top of the map and our tour worked us past Sea Point, along the water to Hout Bay, along the famous Chapman’s Drive scenic roadway past Noordoek to the Indian Ocean side to Simon’s Town and ended down at Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope.

Pictures weren’t taken, and couldn’t justify even if they were, how scenic all the roads we went on were. They were carved into the mountain, right along the sea and had beautiful views of all the bays, beaches and little towns along our tour. Our first stop was in Hout Bay, where we went on a seal cruise. We were the first tour of the day, which was great because we got unparalleled views of the sun still coming up over the mountains- the rays of sun streaming through the 12 Apostles mountain chain was breathtaking. The cruise was fun too. It was brief, 45 minutes or so, but it took us out of the bay and to the island where all the fur seals bask in the sun. My personal favorite part was the tour group of nearly 50 Taiwanese on our cruise. Every stereotype you can imagine I witnessed, but they just got so excited about everything. The water was choppy, so the boat ride slightly resembled a roller coaster and they would scream and get so excited. The also found Johannes, a German from our tour and proceeded to take approximately 40 pictures with him as the Jack to their Rose from Titanic. It was absolutely hilarious, mostly because we knew him and they would all just flock to him and constantly ask for photos. As he put it, “I should get tips for this.”

Homeboy was straight putting a fish in his mouth, leaning over, and a seal would jump out of the water and grab it from his mouth. Our tour guide told us later that he used to get one of the seals to actually come up on the dock and would charge for photos with it, and that they've been trying to get rid of this guy for years but he survived numerous arrests and court visits and still comes right back. 

Next stop was on Chapman’s Drive at a lookout that had a beautiful view of the entire Hout Bay. Our tour guides were so friendly and funny, and had muffins and juice waiting for us for a small picnic while we had a brief photo opportunity. The biggest thing I noticed, which isn’t that obvious in pictures, is how very blue the water is. It’s like the Caribbean, but it’s Africa.

Third stop was over in Simon’s Town to see the African penguin colonies. I can’t even explain how adorable they were. They had everything from the eggs/nests to the furry little babies, to the teenagers with half of their baby fur and half slick feathers to the full-grown adults. Some would play in the sand up shore, others in the water and some in the areas with bushes and vegetation.

After the penguins we headed south to Cape Peninsula National Park. Unbeknownst to us when we got onto the bus this morning, we got dropped off at a spot in the park for a 6km bike ride. The ride was great- mostly flat with scenic views and a very nice break from sitting on the bus. We biked to a visitor center where we had a delicious picnic lunch and stalked an ostrich! My first of many ostrich encounters of the day!

After the bike ride and lunch we hopped back into the bus where we arrived at our final stop, Cape Point. We chose to hike up the mountain to the lighthouse at the top, and then after that hiked west and down to get to the Cape of Good Hope. Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope is the area where the Indian and Atlantic Oceans meet, as well as the most southwest part of the continent. The views were stunning- so much natural beauty and I loved seeing the mountains and oceans. I would highly, highly recommend it to anyone visiting Cape Town. So remember that group of Taiwanese I mentioned from the seal cruise? In an ironic twist, they were at the Cape of Good Hope right when we were coming down the mountain. Johannes literally ran and hid in the bus.

We then boarded the bus for our roughly hour and a half ride back to Cape Town. Along the way we saw wild antelope, most ostriches and finally, after a week’s wait, we saw our first baboon! Baboons be crazy- they absolutely destroy things and are massive. There are signs everywhere in the park warning people about the dangers of baboons and they even have a federal agency who is dedicated to tracking the baboons movements and warning people when they make a sudden directional change. One was walking solo around the road, but then up on the hill we saw a whole clan, from the alpha male to the babies. I don’t know why, but ever since I first learned they have baboons here I’ve wanted to see once and I saw like 15 or so today. Mission: accomplished.

Weekend Recap

So last week I thought I was blogging too much, as it was nearly every night, but now that I haven't posted in a few days, I've forgotten all the details of things that have happened sense. This is my best shot at remembering the big things that have been going on.

Saturday was a blast. We started the morning in our neighboring suburb, Woodstock, at a place called Old Biscuit Mill. I didn't know much about it other than it has a Saturday only market and that our whole lodge recommended going, but given as it was only a 15 minute walk away, we went for it. It was incredible. The mill of Old Biscuit Mill is in fact that. What was once an obviously industrial building has been repurposed (an urban planner's dream, am I right?) into a series of permanent shops and eateries. The permanent shops ranged everywhere from an upscale art gallery, a Lush-eqsue soap and bath shop, a chocolate factory, curio shops and plenty of nice, upscale restaurants. While interesting, the real selling point was the massive market. In the London days we went to markets all the time, and I would say that this one rivaled Borough Market, for those who are familiar. It was mainly food and drink, and every type of cuisine you could possibly imagine, three tents full. I decided on a berry smoothie, and a very American egg and cheese bagel, but in my defense, bagels aren't a thing here and it was deliciously homemade by a local baker and his daughter. Dying for more goodness, Mandi and I split a lemon meringue tart and called it lunch.

Finally, a sunny day with a beautiful view of the mountain. 

L-O-L. For the record, I asked what exactly was an eggslut and it's a glorified McMuffin. Extremely disappointing. 

That night the five of us, along with three guys from the house, Nico, Henry and Andrew went to Newlands to see the South African National Rugby team, the Springboks, play a match against World XV. The game was great, with Springbok winning 47-13, and it was such fun to see the differences in stadium culture here versus at home. My personal favorite example of differences? Instead of peanuts and popcorn in the stands, vendors sell beef jerky and donuts. It's possible I had a donut, I mean when in Rome...

Yijing went behind the scenes to do some face painting herself. 

Sunday was a bit of an interesting day. We met with Sidney in the morning to discuss some details of our project and then had the rest of the day free. If you interested in hearing more about our research, I'm planning on having my next post be just that. We checked the weather and saw that the morning would be clear with rain in the afternoon, so our initial plan was to check out Robben Island- home of the prison where Mandela spent such a large portion of his life. Luckily we called before going and learned that they were sold out, so plan one, done.

Plan two was to head to Bo-Kapp, a colorful and vibrant quarter of the city that’s supposed to be full of photo opportunities. We ate lunch with the plan to do that once we finished, but one look at the sky decided for us that our casual strolls through the neighborhood would likely be more enjoyable on a rain free day.

Plan C was the District 6 museum, and like most things in South Africa, it’s closed on Sundays. Typical. Idea 4 was the movies, but with nothing we wanted playing at any appropriate times, that was a bust. Our final option, and eventual selection was visiting the Two Oceans Aquarium. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t super enthralled about it given all the failed plans we had before, but it was excellent. The Cape Town aquarium is much smaller than the National Aquarium in Baltimore, but still a great one.

They had a predator exhibit and Sunday is shark feeding day, and coincidently we stumbled upon that section right as the feeding began, so that was really cool to watch. We saw the divers go in and feed the sharks as well as the massive sea turtle, all while they explained what they were doing and facts about the animals. The coolest part for me is the touch pool. They have tanks, with staff members manning them, that have all sorts of sea life that you can actually touch. A lot of it was plants- various types of seaweed, but they also had starfish, sea urchins, sea anemone and a few fish. The anemone was quite the experience. I know that they’re living, but you kind of forget that when they’re just hanging out, swaying with the current, but when you touch them, they suck onto you where you literally have to pry yourself off.

We found nemo. 

The touch pool. 

Sunday night we had our first “cultural exchange” if you will. A few days back, Nico, who is from Italy asked if I knew how to make “fluffy, breakfast pancakes. Like they have in America.” He clearly didn’t know who he was talking to, as I am the pancake queen- ask any of my college roommates; they can vouch that I make a mean ‘cake. Laughing I said yes, and he asked if I could teach him. We decided Sunday night was the night, and he got the recipe from me and brought back all of the ingredients from the store. I was impressed that he was even able to find maple syrup, but the boy did good. I taught him how to make the mix, what to look for when they’re cooking and the latest in pancake flipping technique. The result was a delicious breakfast for dinner, and our Italian, plus a few Dutch spectators, had their first homemade pancakes. In exchange, Nico is going to teach me an Italian dish, likely pasta. I definitely think I’m winning this exchange- pancakes for pasta- but I never would have thought that of all things “fluffy, not flat pancakes” would be such a delicacy.

And finally, before I forget, we had a hailstorm yesterday. Yes, you read that correctly- ice falling from the sky in Africa.