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Township Life, Imizamu Yethu (New Year's Eve 2006)

  • The township in Hout Bay, Cape Town, has grown from a loose collection of shacks in the late 1980s to an established township known both as Imizamu Yethu and Mandela Park. Imizamu (sometimes Imizamo) Yethu is isiXhosa for "Our Struggle". Locals have joked that they prefer the appellation 'Irishtown', after a house-building charity - the Township Trust - that has transformed many neighbourhoods in the last few years with the help of Irish volunteers who come each November. Go here to see some of their work www.irishtownship.com The workers at Original Tea Bag Designs live in Imizamu Yethu. Most live in rudimentary shacks made from scrap pieces of wood, the ubiquitous corrugated iron (for both roofs and walls), and plastic sheeting to keep the rain off. Holding down a steady job and going home to a shack every night can't be good for the spirit. Shops, shebeens and cafes stock only the very basic staples. But there is hope. The Township Trust is coming to the end of its whirlwind building programme, which has shown the SA Government what can be done with some Irish application (and building skills). Some of the workers are, or are looking forward to, moving into their own houses. Some people are grabbing the opportunities that the New South Africa has allowed. It is these entrepreneurs, albeit in a small way at first, who will make the biggest impact on the lives of the previously oppressed and presently disadvantaged population. I have been told that the house building programme is intended to house all the 'original' residents of the township. This is easier said than done and there have been many accusations of corruption. Others believe that when some people are assigned a house, they immediately rent it to 'outsiders' or distant relatives and remain living in their shack - effectively adding to the housing problem. The situation, inevitably, is going to leave some at the bottom of the pile where they were in the first place. Historically, there is some tension in the township over illegal foreigners who work for less than the 'going rate' and others who sell drugs. I've seen this myself: it's a strange sight seeing a top-of-the-range white BMW making a delivery amongst the squalor.

Original Tea Bag Designs

  • ORIGINAL TEA BAG DESIGNS was the inspiration for the African Brew Ha Ha. The brilliant idea of re-using old tea bags to create delightful mini works of art showed how one person with a simple idea and the conviction to make it work can make a huge difference to other people's lives. This project deserves to succeed (actually, it is!) in the face of many obstacles - both bureaucratic and personal - as it is bringing employment, purpose and, as one employee commented "a future, and my children's future". The artists from Original T-Bag Designs live in an informal settlement called Imizamu Yethu, in Hout Bay, Cape Town, South Africa. Their homes are simple structures to say the least — some are precarious structures made of odd bits of tin, wood and plastic nailed together for shelter. Although many do not have formal schooling, they do have grit and imagination and a desire to make their families' lives better. The artists, using recycled tea bags as their canvases, are painting themselves out of poverty. Used tea bags are collected and dried in the African sun. Then they are emptied of leaves, carefully ironed, and finally each tea bag is painstakingly painted. The artists work mostly at home during these early phases so they can care for their families while they work. Sometimes the little ones help by emptying out tea leaves. The project was founded in 1999 and continues to be run by Jill Heyes.

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September 2009

September 27, 2009

Dapper Sapeur

Sapeurs of Congo


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A feature of both Congo Brazzavile and DR Congo is the otherworldly presence of dandies known as Sapeurs - 'Societe des Ambianceurs et des Personnes Elegantes', which translates more or less as the society of atmosphere setters and elegant people. Photo, above, by Daniele Tamagni is the cover image for ‘Gentlemen of Bacongo’, his book on the sapeurs of Brazzaville.

Sapeurs of Congo2

The men - and they are all men, young and old - spend every available cent on outrageously expensive designer suits from Brussels or Paris. Even though they parade themselves around the poverty ridden neighbourhoods of Kinshasa, sapeurs see themselves as artists, each one showing off a distinguishing repertoire of gestures.

Rather than attracting scorn they are generally admired by people amongst the shacks and rickety stalls of downtown Brazzaville.

The closest I came to meeting a sapeur during the African Brew Ha Ha was when I was helped out of a sticky situation in Dolisie, Congo by the Minister for Sport who was resplendent in blue pin-stripe suit (with the label still attached, of course, to prove its provenance), red shirt with huge cufflinks and pink tie. Watching him stride out of the little Dolisie airport is a sight I will never forget. Lower photo by Baudouin Mouanda

Posted at 01:08 PM in Africa - other stories | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

September 21, 2009

The Book of the Blog of the Trip

Africa tea tour book


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The African Brew Ha Ha keeps brewing ...

African Brew Ha Ha - the book - will soon be available to all the abhaha fans who could not get enough of the blog!

Publication of the book about my tea tour through Africa is due in April 2010 in the UK from the good people at Summersdale. Then who knows!

I've already had a great endorsement from travel writer Peter Moore who read an early draft of the book. Always thought he was a man of good taste.




Posted at 05:39 PM in Africa - other stories, Book, Books, How the African Brew Ha Ha works, In the News, Reasons to Drink More Tea, Stuff about the Bike, Travel | | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

September 18, 2009

Tea boss admits complicity in genocide

<p>2009 Housing Heroes Awards</p>

Rwanda tea boss admits complicity

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Michel Bagaragaza, the former head of Rwanda's tea industry, has pleaded guilty to complicity in the 1994 genocide at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), which sits in Arusha, Tanzania.

Mr Bagaragaza admitted that he allowed a militia to use tea factory vehicles on killing sprees.

He had originally pleaded not guilty to four counts of genocide - conspiracy to commit genocide, genocide, complicity in genocide and violations of the Geneva Conventions - but amended his plea as part of a plea bargain.

An estimated 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed during 100 days of tribal killings in the Central African country.

Posted at 04:40 PM in Tea Stories | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

September 17, 2009

Spare $2,120 for a cuppa, mate?

Gourmet tea
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Our favourite democratic drink has a rich cousin - the gourmet tea, some costing as much as $2,120 a kilo.

I'm not sure how many cups you'd get out of that but I suppose if you have to count to justify the expense, you can't afford it.

Demand for pricey brews has remained strong despite the recession. An upmarket international chain of tea boutiques is planned - I just hope they don't model them on Starbucks.

Posted at 04:05 PM in Tea Stories | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)