The Big Issue #290

  • The Big Issue #290 (20 October – 24 November 2020) is available from your favourite vendor across the city.

Food retail: realities, futures and fictions

It has been over six months since COVID-19 upended life as we knew it in Cape Town and the country as a whole. Now, as we catch our breath, one word in particular keeps coming to mind: adaptable.

Saving Philippi farming area for future generations

Certified professional soil scientist Christopher D’Aiuto of the PEDI AgriHub turns the spotlight on commercial farming in the city, and shares lessons learnt from the Philippi Horticultural Area.

Diary of an urban farmer

Abalimi Bezekhaya (farmers of the home in isiXhosa) is a community-based organisation, which has been assisting small-scale township farmers since 1982. Many of the people with whom it engages come from the Eastern Cape and grew up farming.
But farming is very different in the Mother City. The limited space, sandy soil and harsh wind or sunshine in the summer makes it difficult to grow vegetables. Yet, these farmers have shown that it can be done successfully and organically. Grace Stead, managing director of Abalimi Bezekhaya, caught up with some small-scale Cape Flats farmers who share their lived realities.

Redirecting the flow of food

Iming Lin and Ashley Newell of FoodFlow demonstrate the importance of linking urban farmers and communities, and keeping the “flow of food” between the two.

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More from this Issue:


  • All
  • Agents of Change
  • City Life
  • Feature
  • News

Vendor Art

“Nature is not only all that is invisible to the eye…it also includes the inner picture of the Soul” – Edvard Munch

Sherman Permall

Vendor Sherman Permall is determined to secure a brighter future. In this issue, he shares his experience and hopes with us.

Arnold Jako

Closer to town, Arnold Jako is determined to have a bright future.

Joyful strokes

“The joy of drawing and interacting with colour is a creative birthright for every individual. “
Connie Smith Siegel

Saving Philippi farming area for future generations

Certified professional soil scientist Christopher D’Aiuto of the PEDI AgriHub turns the spotlight on commercial farming in the city, and shares lessons learnt from the Philippi Horticultural Area.

Food retail: realities, futures and fictions

It has been over six months since COVID-19 upended life as we knew it in Cape Town and the country as a whole. Now, as we catch our breath, one word in particular keeps coming to mind: adaptable.

Diary of an urban farmer

Grace Stead, managing director of Abalimi Bezekhaya, caught up with some small-scale Cape Flats farmers who share their lived realities.

Redirecting the flow of food

Iming Lin and Ashley Newell of FoodFlow demonstrate the importance of linking urban farmers and communities, and keeping the “flow of food” between the two.

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