Eco Sanitation restores dignity

Razaan (she prefers to remain anonymous) was living rough on the streets of Cape Town with her children after life had dealt her several bad hands and rendered her homeless. One day in 2014, she happened upon a discarded newspaper that featured the work of Streetscapes, a project of Khulisa Social Solutions, a non-profit organisation.

The story in the paper spoke to her, as it was about people just like her who had been assisted to reintegrate into society via the project by working in inner-city vegetable gardens.

Razaan has had a tough but rewarding experience, and today she is the supervisor of the Rugley Road vegetable garden. She comes to work every morning from her home, a rented wendy house in Mannenberg.

The mother of two takes great pride in the fruits of her labour; the organic vegetable garden, designed in a horseshoe shape at the parliamentary debating chamber, was her handiwork. Spinach and onions, among other vegetables, grow in the garden. They are for sale to the public and also have a market through the auspices of a partner organisation, the Good Company Market.