Over the years, as we have journeyed across the Western Cape Province participating in the Human Settlements programme to build affordable homes, we have always been struck by the uniqueness of these diverse communities, their sense of identity and pride and how their individual cultures permeate all aspects of their society – their struggles, beliefs, traditions, music, food, religion, fashion, activism, politics, philosophies…
We currently find ourselves being hosted in the colourful and vibrant Bonteheuwel, another suburb of Cape Town that has seen its own sets of challenges and struggles, and where for a long time (perhaps as far back as 1964) there have been no major infrastructure upgrades or housing developments.
The project
“It is a privilege for us to be part of this City of Cape Town project that is seeing the addition of a further 272 homes, across three sites, and to an area in which many housing beneficiaries have been on a waiting list for quite some time,” says Emil Young, ASLA’s housing contract manager on site. “Witnessing the delight on people’s faces on handover days – the momentous occasion of moving into, what is often, your first home (at sometimes over 70!) – is an experience that we will never tire of.”