TOWNSHIP CRAWLING

Photographs by Lyndi Barrett

Explore the Cape Town Townships with this group and you will visit the Men's Hostels.The men's hostels were designed for migrant labourers who had moved to the city looking for unemployment.

The tour of the townships starts at the oldest township called Langa.
Here we visit the hostels which were designed for migrant labourers.
Their wives could not stay with them but could visit on certain occasion only for serious reasons like visiting the doctor or so on.  In the hostels strangers share a room that could fit two single beds.There were no bathroom facilities and families have to share a toilet. 

Living  conditions in the flats were not conducive to someone who had a  family and that was the reason that the hostel dwellers decided to move out and build their own shacks for privacy.

Our next stop is the traditional healer who still play an important role. In the community's personal lives.  Even under tremendous influence of urbanization, displacement and modernization people in the townships hold their customs and traditions dearly. Traditional healers are a source of health care for which Africans have always paid and even with the expansion of modern medicine.

Our next stop will be in Khayelitsha, which is the biggest township. In Khayelitsha we stop at the Khayelitsha Craft Market, where tourists are able to buy hand made crafts from the local communities. We also make a stop at a local radio station called Radio Zibonele. Radio Zibonele's original purpose was to preach health news to the community Of Khayelitsha, This radio station braodcasts from a shipping crate amongst The shack of town two.

The last township we visit is Guguletu, where we have an opportunity to visit a township restuarant, where traditional African food and drinks are served.  Here you have an opportunity to sit down and interact with the township folks and be able to share and exchange information. Most township restuarants offer live entertainment like township music or traditional marimba bands which are quite popular with tourists.

A visit to the township is really a memorable experience, the culture,the food, the people and  the community spirit is not found anywhere else in the world.