Issue 2 Inside Africa

7/29/2019 Issue 2 Inside Africa...

1/191 | CHAPTER | PHOTOGRAPHY JOURNAL | OCTOBER 2009

CHAPTERIssue 2, October 20

The edition from Africa


2/19

CHAPTER | PHOTOGRAPHY JOURNAL | OCTOBER 2009 | 2 3 | CHAPTER | PHOTOGRAPHY JOURNAL | OCTOB

An identiable period in the history or developement of something

03 SummaryandContents

04 EditorsNote

05 CoverStory

FreedomPark,MitchellsPlain:

whatadifferencedesignmakes

to fami lieson theCape F la ts

18 Out o fAf rica

MomentsfromtheContinent

20 Locusofcontrol

Theperceptionofhowmuch control wehavei s

t he open endedq ue st io nwe

a sk w it hi nt hi sp ho to essa y

31 Inter-Face

Thesurface,place,or where two t hi ngs touch

o ther o rmeet . Encar ta

34 Sangoma

Traditionalhealersjointh againstTB

The African Edition.In the second Issue of CHAPTER we visit the Cape Flats, revisit some of its history and look at a design project that has made a big difference

ten families in the Freedom Park informal settlement. Out of Africa looks at the Raghmania Primary School Choir in District 6 . We start a journey

the next few issues when we look at the Locus of Control. In an attempt to climb out, so that we can look at the shape of the box we need to th

apply the construct of internal vs. external Locus of control to contemporary society to explore the perceptions of control. Again we look into the

through her people in Inter-Face and nally end with a snapshot of an essential functional relationship between modern medicine and traditiona

ght against MDR (Multi Drug Resistant )TB.

TheBigpicture,

one

personatatime.


3/19


torsnote.

mustsoonbecomeclearthatsome-

erealongtheline,whatwethought

nrequired(bysurveyingourprevi-

sunderstandingandtheconcomi-

teducationalnancialandpolitical

wsthatleadtohisoptimumdevel-

ment),andwh athe actuallyneeds

asocialorganismdiffersvastlyifwe

callyassessourcurrentstateasa

eciesinthecontextoftheenviron-

ntweinhabit,theenvironmentthat

ourlifesupportsystem.

rhapswecouldtaketheutilityofour

guageandpointitatsomethingdif-

ent?

eIntra-politicsofHumanExperience

dthe transactions of perceptual

angeinaMeaningsBasedEcono-

forexample,wouldputCourtesy

a notionandbehaviourbackinto

placeasalearningoutcomeinthe

ekingofknowledge.

naturethereis atendencyamong

ngorganismstoshowintentionality,

opism,oraturningtowardsome-

ng,liketheclichdmothsfatalat-

ctiontotheopenameofacandle

ichitmistakesforthelightof the

on, orthe movementof algae in

ondtoareasofhigherlightinten-

yforincreasedphotosynthesis.As

peciesweareenmeshedintothis

uralorder, andthus musttoobe

bjecttoaTropism.

s raises the obvious question:

hatisitinournaturalbeingthatwe

nto?

e Locus of Control is a construct

mthe eldofpsychologythatas-

ssestheattributionof responsibil-

toeventsinapersonslifeasbeing

hin(internal)oroutsidetherecontrol

ternallocusofcontrol).Whatweas

ocietydoandthedegreeofcontrol

perceivemayholdfurthercluesas

whatitisweneedtobeturningto,

weknowbydeductivelogicwhatit

weneedtoturnawayfrom.Thisisa

rtingpoint.eadventureofnewpossibilitiesisa

ndone.

ouldliketoformallyextendaninvita-

ntoyoutoparticipateinthegrowth

CHAPTER.Ilookforwardtoreceiv-

feedback and more importantly

dforward.

aceandBlessings.

sserBooley

Freedo

mP

ark,

MitchellsPlain,

CapeFlats,SouthAfrica


4/19


A boy sits eating his orange in the sunshine.

He is oblivious to the all pervasive sand that

brands the Cape ats bastard child of the

Apartheid regime.

Returning home,3 generations, each

one a step further away from a shameful

legacy, walking towards a different future.


5/19


can be no talk of Mitchells Plain without

ning District 6, the institutional destruc-

his once vibrant residential district, and the

emoval of 60,000 people by the Apartheid

ment during the 60s and 70s.

eat Scheme was to keep the cities for t he

and put all the non-whites on the outskirts

h African cities, from where t he non-whites

still access the cities as the labour force.

oup Areas Act was the legislation used to

tely uproot generations and exile them to

dy wastes of the Cape Flats, where to this

architecture of restricted access, divisionernal displacement still functions.

en was the birth of the non-white residential

xes spread across the ats, like Mitchells

Built in the 70s to house the victims of

removals this mega-township now houses

on people according to the City of Cape

Municipality.

Mitchells Plain has more than its fair share

sterism, crime and drugs, yet at the same

asts one of the biggest shopping malls in

Africa. The unemployment rate exceeds

d HIV infection rate is higher t han 35%.

y easy to see how one could be left with

ive impression when faced with such sta-

tistics, which indicate all the right conditions for a

thriving gang and drug culture, let alone crime.

Enter Freedom Park, enter Design Indaba, enter

the 10X10 project. On the 27 April in 1998, an

overgrown eld infamous for drug and gang related

activities was occupied by the rst informal settlers

of Freedom Park. The occupation was motivated

by the need for housing as the existing conditions

were overcrowded expensive and unhealthy.

The City proceeded to take legal action against the

informal settlers, but they rallied themselves into an

organisation and sought legal aid.

In 2003 the City of Cape Town included the Free-

dom Park community in a broader housing devel-opment in which 1800 houses were to be built

on 4 sites in Mitchells Plain, 493 of which were to

accommodate the 280 families residing in Free-

dom Park already and another 213 families on the

Cities waiting list.

Design Indaba, a design organisation based in

South Africa have been committed over the last

15 years to a vision based on the premise that

creativity will fuel an economic revolution in South

Africa.

Besides the agship conference and expo, De-

sign Indaba has expanded into a multi-tiered ex-

perience that incorporates other events, media,

education, training and business development

Encapsulating the best design in a unique project

setting, spin off projects were launched to cele-

brate the 10th anniversary of Design Indaba, one

of them being the Design Indaba 10X10 Housing

Project.

The 10X10 housing project challenged 10 archi-

tectural teams to change the perception that low

cost housing falls outside the ambit of design.

The objective was to come up with affordable,

innovative responses to the very pressing issue

of low-income urban housing. Sustainable, en-

ergy-efcient design, construction and operation

principles were to be incorporated. Experiences

and outputs were to be compiled and ultimatelypresented to the Minister of Housing as an open

source manual, a contribution to the public pool

of knowledge available to all those interested in

the design or construction of low-cost housing on

a completely pro-bono basis. Thus,through col-

laboration with the Freedom Park Development

Association, Development Action Group and the

Niall Mellon Township Trust, Design Indaba 10X10

Housing project was allocated 10 adjacent plots

where a winning design would eventually be built.

Design Indaba undertook to give the houses to 10

Freedom Park families for free, so it was important

that the beneciaries were selected in an equitable

way. A lucky draw of all the families interested in

Marco and their dog in front

r previous home.

Mary and Marcos ca

of many pets they ha

ing with them in the

During the wet Cap

winters the rain com

the shack and pours

the wall next to

bed.


6/19


Mary Lackay.


7/19


ating in this experimental project was done

June 2007.

a Mpahlwa of MMA Architects (Cape

won the design element of the project. The

onsiderations of the project was time, cost

ommunity involvement, which Mpahlwas

constructed of sand bags, took into con-

on.

ouses were constructed using EcoBuild

ogy, identied by MMA Architects as the

ption for sustainability in design. Wooden

lled with sand bags, covered by chicken

d then cement are the basic units that con-

he walls of the houses. The thermal sta-ered by this construction method is ideally

or the hot and the cold of the Cape Town

ackey and Olga Jonker are two of the recip-

the Design Indaba 10X10 Housing Project

a single mother raising her only son, 11

d Marco. She is unemployed, leaving home

ay to search for casual work to put food on

e. It is not uncommon to nd many families

dom Park living on less than a dollar a day.

Design Indaba interview she continues to

about the built in cupboards that would a

part o her dream house. Marco wants a desk in

his own room where he could do his homework,

and a bath so that he can take a warm bath inside

the bathroom that his old home never had. Mary

would like to have a railing going up along the stair-

case because Marco does not see too well. She

mentions that she is security conscious, and with

good reason as the area has a very high crime

rate. In the new house the dogs will stay outside

in the yard, there will be no messing in the new

house,she says.

Olga and Hans Jonker were thrilled that they would

be receiving a house for their family of 6 children.

Together they have been living on the eld for 9years. Olga is excited at the prospect of the chil-

dren having their own privacy, especially since they

are getting older and require their own space.

The construction technique lends itself to commu-

nity involvement, which was constant. The various

families all helped ll the sand bags required for the

construction, as well as the actual placing of the

sandbags.

The woodenF ramecontains the sand bags

andeventuallyshapesthewallsofthehouse.

The Jonker and the Mackay families were the rst

to move into their new homes earlier this year. A

testament t o the dedication and effort of all the

various organisations, associations and sponsors

that prove that a better future by design is a pos-sibility. It also demonstrates the incredible capacity

we can access when we work together.

Olga Jonkers with 2 of her 6

children outside their previous

home.

Compacting of the sand

into the wooden frames.


8/19


The families who participated in the process h

portunity to build their own houses from the grou

skilled labour was then called in to apply the nis

es. Because of the simplicity of the technique,

require much skilled labour in the early stages, w

reduces cost and increases the viability of this

use throughout Cape Town and South Africa.

Photo: Rosemary Lombard


9/19


Hans and Olga stand proudly with

their youngest in front their new

home.

Mary Lackay and Moerida Pillay

watch as the nal touches are add-

ed to the homes they helped build

for themselves.



Photo: Rosemary Lom


10/19


Out of Africa

Raghmania Primary School choir,District 6.About 33 years after the forced removals tha

place in District 6,the school choir from th

primary school sing for the then president N

Mandela at a ceremony where he handed o

keys to new houses built for the elders of Dis


11/19


The Locus of Control


12/19


Plein str. one of the busier streets in down town

Cape Town. Not for the mundane.

The edge of a township in Cape Town,

named after anti apartheid activist and

one of the founders of the armerd wing

of the ANC, Joe Slovo.

A eld u nder an elctricity Pylon has be-

come the temporary home for hundreds

of families left homeless by a re that rav-

ished the shack land that was their previ-

ous home.Power to the people.


13/19


Voortrekker Road, Cape Town.

Bergie, or homeless person with the trophi

mounted on his mobile home. Some of the

bergies actually opt out of the expectations

civilised society by choice, many have no choic

They also have no mortage payements,no ta

es, no bank statements and no bills to conten

with.


14/19


City+Prot = Inhabitants Out

Grunau, Zurich .Where we liive, where we can

to live, where we are not allowed to live.Gentr

is the phenomenon where communities occupy

area are forced out of that area due to the incre

the market value of their homes. When the Ap

government did it it was clearly wrong, is it acce

to us because property economics and nanc

are responsible?


15/19


Joe Slovo,Cape Town.

Children cheerfully play by the damage caused by

the re.


16/19


Marius Dyers,

School teacher in the Cape Flats with a voice

for opera and a erce dress sense.

Vilancoulos, Mozambique.

Are we deprived by our own ex-

pectations of all the possibilities

that modern life has to offer?


17/19


Oegtie

The only surviving sister

of my grandfather.

Kaashief Booley,

Artist, Blacksmith, Dreamer.


18/19


Sangoma,Worcester, Western Cape.

With the rise of Multi Drug Resistant Tuberculosis the DOTS (Directly Observed Treatment Strategy) is becoming increasingly crucial in the

against this curable killer. Due to the expenses involved in traveling to clinics and hospitals for treatment, the Health Department has enlist

aid of respected members of the community to oversee the treatment on a daily basis. This Sangoma ( Traditional Healer ) invited me to

the consultation area in his shack. The shelves are lined with jars of Muti ( traditional medicines) and as he lights his pipe the hairs on t

of my neck stand upright. He never said what he was doing, though I always felt it to be a greeting of t he Ancestors.


19/19

he above image is a photograph of the hands of a man called Solomon.He was someone who I met on the streets of Cape Town selling cheap

uperglue for a living. He used to belong to a prison gang, he is now no longer a young man, After his wife died, he became the sole provider for his

hildren.

Holding on to what is important in our lives is an individual challenge that we all face. Enduring, persevering and keeping on are qualities we cannot do

without. The magazine you hold in your hand was a test in endurance. A holding on, to the original purpose. Documenting, and tellling peoples stories,

he ones I believe need to be heard. The ones that make us reect upon our common humanity.you would like to buy an original image in this magazine please contact Y.booley at [email protected].

www.yasserbooley.wordpress.com

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Issue 2 Inside Africa