Why does the western leopard toad cross the road?

Why does the western leopard toad cross the road? To meet his mate on the other side. Unfortunately, this often means he ends up as roadkill. The western leopard toad lives in Cape Town and the Agulhas Plain, sharing its home with the rest of us Capetonians. As toads go, it is larger than most and sports distinctive chocolate to reddish-brown patches with bright yellow or black edging – which is why it’s named after leopards. For the most part, this endemic¹ amphibian citizen happily co-exists with humans in the suburbs, but for a few days in August, thousands of toads migrate from their garden homes to suitable ponds to mate. This would be perfectly natural were it not for the fact that we have built roads and highways around their breeding ponds in wetlands. As a result, potentially thousands of toads end up as roadkill: The western leopard toad is an endangered species on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List².

“So what if another species becomes extinct, we’ve got plenty more,” you might say. Dr Patricia Holmes, a biophysical specialist in the biodiversity management branch of the City of Cape Town’s environmental resource management department, explains why the well-being of every species is significant: “All species are part of the web of life – like the rivets holding an aeroplane together – and while it may not make an obvious difference to the functioning of an ecosystem if one or two are lost, at some stage the ecosystems stop functioning well and will rapidly degrade. Similarly, if too many rivets fall off the aeroplane, at some stage it will break up and fall from the sky. Our natural ecosystems are our life-support systems that provide us with essential ‘services’, such as clean water, flood control and pollination for crops, as well as the genetic resources of individual species that could be the basis for anti-cancer drugs and other medicines. Many benefits are difficult to quantify in financial terms, but we will be much poorer without our rich ecosystems and humanity will not survive long-term without them.”

Cape Town’s ecosystem supports our sustainability

Cape Town is unique in that we have a particularly rich and diverse ecosystem. The three big factors that contributed to this biodiversity are time, place and fire: The region has a history dating back more than 60-million years to the Gondwana supercontinent – and didn’t experience a major glacial period, which would have eliminated all plant species. This means our local plants and animals have had a long time to evolve. The high diversity in landscapes, geologies and micro-climates here promoted the evolution of new species that adapted to these place-specific conditions. Fire also played an important role in the fynbos biome ecosystems, by driving the growth of new plants, without which biodiversity would diminish over time.

Six national vegetation types that are endemic to the city and can only be conserved here: Peninsula Sandstone Fynbos, Peninsula Granite Fynbos, Peninsula Shale Renosterveld, Cape Flats Sand Fynbos (classed as the “most unfortunate ecosystem nationally”, with hardly any conserved and many threatened species), Cape Flats Dune Strandveld and Lourensford alluvium fynbos. According to the latest National Biodiversity Assessment (2011) these are all threatened to some degree.

“Cape Town has a unique biodiversity that cannot be conserved elsewhere; we have an international and legal obligation to do it,” says Patricia. “When it comes to our citizens, several studies have demonstrated how important access to nature is for all people – it is fundamental to our existence and is especially important for young people. Economically, a study of Cape Town’s ecosystem ‘services’ puts the value conservatively between R2- and 6-billion per annum, without even taking into account the health and wellbeing benefits. We need to conserve our biodiversity to provide healthy living conditions and build a sustainable city.”

More on the topic, in depth:

• The City of Cape Town is one of the few cities in the world that has a biodiversity strategy. Read more about how the city tries to protect important areas, balance development and conservation, and address invasive species, as well as what you can do to help: here
• Read Cape Town’s biodiversity strategy: here
• Learn more about the western leopard toad: here

More on the topic, in bite-sized snippets:

• The Cape Floristic Region is richer in plant species than any other site of the same size in the world.
• 70% of the 9 600 plant species in the Cape Floristic Region are found nowhere else on earth. About 20% of these are on the IUCN Red List.
• Cape Town itself is home to about 3 000 indigenous plant species: 190 are endemic, 318 are considered threatened and 13 are extinct or extinct in the wild.
• The Cape Peninsula Mountain Chain supports 2 285 plant species (of which 158 are endemic)  in 471 km².
• Of the 83 mammal species that remain in Cape Town, 24 are on the IUCN Red List and three have recently become extinct.
• Of the 361 bird species that live in Cape Town, 10 are endangered, 22 are on the IUCN Red List and at least three species have recently become extinct.
• There are numerous invertebrate species in Cape Town; approximately 111 are endemic to the Cape Peninsula Mountain Chain.
• There are 27 amphibian species in Cape Town, of which 10 are on the IUCN Red List.
• 57 reptile species, of which five are on the IUCN Red List and three are locally extinct, are found in Cape Town.
• 24 fish species are dependent on Cape Town’s estuaries.
• There are 18 different national terrestrial vegetation types found in Cape Town, of which 14 are threatened because of habitat transformation.
• Many globally important horticultural plants come from Cape Town and the Cape Floral Kingdom in general. These include geraniums, gladioli, freesias, ixias, pincushions and gazanias. The Western Cape is also a world centre of bulb diversity.

¹Endemic: Only found in the particular area referred to, for example the Cape Town metro area.
²IUCN Red List: An international list of species threatened with extinction.
Source: Towards Achieving Biodiversity Targets for a Global Urban Biodiversity Hotspot by Gregg Oelofse for the City of Cape Town.

This article was written by Alma Viviers and the photo was taken by Lisa Burnell; it first appeared in the May 2013 issue of City Views: Cape Town as a biodiverse city. Read it online.

It’s a blazing Saturday morning. At the corner of Sidmouth Avenue and Upper Orange Street in the leafy suburb of Oranjezicht, volunteers from across Cape Town have gathered from early morning. The cause? Farming. A couple with a toddler are put to task pulling up mustard plants to be dug back into the earth. Some volunteers cart wheelbarrows of soil to level a piece of ground, while others sift compost and plant seeds.

The site, which was a bowling green constructed in the 1950s and disused for many decades, was part of the original city farm, Oranje Zigt. Established in 1709, the farm grew to be the largest in the Upper Table Valley in the 19th century, supplying fresh vegetables and fruit to feed the growing settlement and colony, as well as passing ships, until the turn of the 20th century.

Through patient back-breaking yet rewarding work, this historic site in the City Bowl has now been returned to its original use as a farm under the watchful eye (and through their own hard labour) of farmer Mario Graziani and Sheryl Ozinsky who head the project. “This is the story of Cape Town; the story of Cape Town is the story of fresh water and food,” explains Sheryl, rake in hand. “I envision us establishing a museum in the old barn here that tells not only this story but also how, over time, we have lost some of these important connections to water and food, to nourishment and health, and how we can reconnect with them.”

If you look at it now, it’s difficult to imagine that six months ago the disused site was covered in Kikuyu grass and rubbish. The geometric design by landscape architect Tanya de Villiers radiates out from a pond, with stone pathways that divide the site into planting beds. Additional walkways are set out with recycled cement pavers unearthed on the site. The pathways are lined with perennial herbs such as sage and rosemary, as well as buchu, which will form hedges to protect young seedlings from the wind.

Mario applies organic farming principles that include interplanting and ensuring healthy soil by replacing nutrients with compost made on the farm and bokashi supplied by residents. He also likes to look at the ecosystem as a whole: “I had a thing about having a pond on the farm because it brings dragon flies, frogs, lizards and predator insects that help control pests. You build up a little ecosystem that takes care of itself.” Currently, the biggest issue is squirrels and they are looking at introducing an owl box with the hope that a natural predator might keep the critters under control.

While the first crop of radishes is ready for harvest, another crop is also starting to flourish: the community. The farm is becoming a living example of how we reconnect with food production and with each other. “People are coming from Sea Point, Claremont and even Hout Bay to work on the farm,” Mario marvels. “And next Saturday they are back with friends.” Cecil Rossouw and Nyatsa Clinton Masalesa, who first came to the farm as part of a work team from local NGO, Straatwerk, have also found a permanent home with the project. Even the children from Stepping Stones Montessori Pre-School have dropped in to learn about planting vegetables and herbs.

The community also includes businesses that have contributed on multiple levels. To help make this a financially viable endeavour, the farm will eventually sell the bulk of its produce to the Madame Zingara group of restaurants, which also provided the initial seed funding for the project. Reliance Compost, Michells Wholesale Nursery and New Plant Nursery have also contributed to the project. “Our motto is: If you eat; you are in,” says Sheryl. “Everyone has a contribution to make here.”

Join in and get your hands dirty!
If you would like to volunteer at the Oranjezicht City Farm, you can report for duty every Saturday at 08h00 on the corner of Upper Orange Street and Sidmouth Avenue. For more information go to www.ozcf.co.za or their Facebook page.

Text by Alma Viviers
Photos by Lisa Burnel
Image captions:
- The view of Table Mountain from the farm, in the middle ground the pond is positioned to help create a more natural ecosystem on the farm.
- The layout and early stages of the farm
- Cecil Rossouw, Nyatsa Clinton Masalesa and Mario Graziano

This article first appeared in the May 2013 issue of City Views, Cape Town as a biodiverse city. Read it online.

We would learn from nature, instead of trying to control it.

One of the operating conditions of the earth is constant change, a phenomenon with which we aren’t always comfortable. As a species, we like to “fix” the world around us so that it endures: we coat steel so that it won’t rust, we introduce preservatives into our food so that it lasts longer. Yet the systems and species that have survived on earth have been doing so for 3.8 billion years – learning to flourish despite constant change. During this time, nature has been developing a blueprint for sustainability and therefore has the potential to show us how we can live abundantly within the limits of the earth. We just have to start looking at nature in a new way, by quietening our own cleverness and realising that nature is far wiser than all our current knowledge combined.

Thinking of the city as an ecosystem is a form of biomimicry, a new science that asks what we can learn from nature in order to emulate its genius. Biomimicry is the study of how nature can teach us to evolve and adapt to the changing conditions of earth, and so survive as a species.

We would understand that cities, like ecosystems, evolve.

If you studied any ecosystem over time you would see a pattern of increasing complexity and interconnectedness evolving. You’d notice that while an ecosystem matures and climaxes, it also declines and decays: this, too, is part of its evolution; out of decline and decay comes new growth and opportunity.

There are three distinct stages of ecosystem development:

1. The first stage is the pioneering ecosystem: It’s when there’s very little material for life, so the ecosystem focuses on producing. Imagine that a great fire has happened: the first species you’ll start to spot in the burnt-out veld will be annuals and quick-growing plants (those that only survive for a season). Type one ecosystems have a short-term focus, mainly on the quantitative production of fast-growing plants.

2. The second stage is when the ecosystem has an established amount of vegetation that begins to attract other species – animals and birds – to the area. Type two ecosystems add an important layer to the system: consumers.

3. As the system climaxes as a type three, or mature, ecosystem, it develops a high level of complexity and diversity, which provides the resilience needed to ensure a system’s survival. Key to this phase is the addition of decomposers and recyclers, creating circular metabolisms and web-like food chains. In these systems there is no such thing as waste, only resources shared between the diverse species existing within a cooperative space. Type three ecosystems increasingly focus on quality, or the relationship between the various components, since the large accumulated stock of material means that quantity is no longer important for survival.

Look again at the characteristics of ecosystems at these three stages of development. Can you see the similarity between a pioneering ecosystem (type one) and a city ecosystem in its focus on producing more and more goods?

What a relief! Perhaps we are not bad humans after all, but rather a pioneering species following the prescribed flow of nature’s path. Perhaps we’re still learning how to evolve ourselves and our ecosystems?

We would value diversity, decay and decomposition

If our cities are pioneering ecosystems, then we should try to understand the characteristics of a mature ecosystem to ensure our survival. Once we have identified these characteristics, we can work on including them in our systems to ensure that they continue abundantly.

So what are the characteristics of a mature ecosystem that can help us see a way forward as a species in our urban ecosystem? Firstly, diversity. This, coupled with redundancy, is vital for a resilient ecosystem that can survive constant change. Secondly, you need decomposers and recyclers that help to maintain the flow of materials within the ecosystem, allowing for new growth and the development of opportunities, in this way continuing to create conditions conducive to more life.

In my opinion, these recycling champions are currently the residents of informal settlements, who have built “cities” entirely by closing the material loops in the city. They are an urban ecosystem’s repurposers, recyclers and upcyclers. If a fridge in Sea Point stops working and no one there will fix it, the fridge will quickly find its way into an informal settlement where it will be skilfully upscaled and given new life.

So much time is spent thinking about how to improve recycling in the city through top-down planning, when in fact it is already being skilfully designed and tested by citizens from the bottom up in informal settlements. Without these settlements, our landfills would’ve been full years ago.

We would become more attuned to the life around us.

Thinking of the city as an ecosystem requires us to become more locally attuned to systems that already exist around us: can we let go of the idea that urban development and “progress” is best expressed in the form of glass-clad skyscrapers – more new stuff that depletes our natural systems of their ability to sustain our lives abundantly? Can we rather think of urban development as evolution, and start to build from what already exists?

The emerging systems and expertise we need to evolve our city into a mature ecosystem are already around us – in nature and in our communities. What we need to change is our thinking.

To read more about Shannon’s work and urban ecosystems, go to www.informalsouth.co.za.

Text by Shannon Royden-Turner, photo by Lisa Burnell. This article first appeared in the May 2013 issue of City Views: Cape Town as a biodiverse city. Read it here.

Being located in the Cape Floristic Region, the smallest and richest of the world’s six floral kingdoms, means that our city is slap bang in the middle of one of the most varied ecosystems on the planet. And it’s not just about the plants and animals: Cape Town boasts a rich diversity in its human inhabitants too. Seeing the connections between these elements and their interactions with the non-living environment such as infrastructure, cultural systems and economies, allows us to start seeing our city as an urban ecosystem – one that needs to be nurtured and developed in a way that increases its diversity, resilience and equality.

City Views invited Cape Town-based illustrator Alex Latimer to help us show the rich variety of our city’s systems for our May cover. We think his whimsical visual map, depicting the incredible diversity of Cape Town, does the trick. We asked Alex a few quick questions about his work:

Drawing Cape Town I realised… again what an amazing city we live in. No other city could be as fun to draw as Cape Town.

If I could wave my artist pen in reality, I would… add a tunnel through Table Mountain and two extra lanes to every road in Cape Town. And I’d probably add a tame T-Rex wallowing in the sea – just because I like drawing dinosaurs.

What inspires the sense of humour and fun in your drawings? I try not to over-plan my drawings, which means that the process of drawing is a process of discovery for me. I’m just as surprised at the end result as anyone else and I think that is what keeps my work quirky and fun.

• Read the latest issue of City Views here.
• Did you know that you can visit Kirstensbosch National Botanical Garden – which is celebrating its centenary this year – for free on 22 May.

Illustration by Alex Latimer

Paul Hanmer on performing at City Hall:

“I have been on the other side of the stage because I was a music student at UCT and we used to get cheaper tickets to come on a Thursday night to the Philharmonic concerts here. But my father didn’t want me to come. He said, ‘There’s a permit for this place to be open to people of colour,’ [people of colour needed to be permitted access to public buildings during apartheid]. And I retorted, ‘There is a permit at UCT for people of colour to be there.’ And he said, ‘Well, that is for your education.’ And I said, ‘This is also for my education.’

“But I have never performed here; I have never climbed on this stage. I was wondering how big it was going to be and whether we would actually be able to take up that space on the stage. When I was 18 or 19 it looked enormous. The whole orchestra and the choir sometimes fitted on there when we used to come on a Thursday. That is my memory of it and I was thinking in the days leading up to this show how big it is – but it is not intimidating. This is an important gig. It is a respectful gig. It is a gig that bestows respect on us.”

McCoy Mrubata on performing at City Hall:

“Well, I was born here in Cape Town and today (Friday, 25 April) was the first time I’ve set my foot in this place. On 1 June I will be 54 and this was the first time… Hallelujah! I made it here. It is a really good feeling to be here. This is my Broadway – I made it.”

Moreira Chonguica on collaborating with musicians on stage:

“For me that’s the key element of the Moreira Project and the concept behind my music and composition. I don’t play with the bass player or the drummer because he is a great musician; I choose to play with him because he is a great human being. It is a package for me. Somehow we have to meet. Musically, yes. Technically, yes. But before we are musicians, we are human beings. I give value to the human factor. The human factor is the x-factor. Yes, we each have our own histories, religions, politics – we don’t have to agree in order to meet in this way. We can debate and disagree and still make great music together. It is about life, it is about being a human being first. We come here to live. It is about celebrating life and celebrating life is about difference.”

On performing at City Hall:

“I feel so honoured to be here. I feel privileged. I am probably one of the most privileged African musicians in the world. I am in a great city; I studied at a great university; I will be sharing the stage with musicians I admire. I grew up watching them; listening to them. I have tremendous respect for McCoy and Paul and the crew I grew up with. Going back to the history of South Africa and being here on Freedom day, the fact that 20 years ago no black man was allowed in here and that Nelson Mandela made his first address to the public here, you can’t take that for granted. This is not a gig for me; it is a monument. It is not a show for me; it is a sort of 21st century spiritual service.”

On music and history:

“Music carries some of the untold histories that might not otherwise be heard but often you have to ‘break the code’ yourself. It may not be as predictable or obvious. I like untold stories because they make us quiet, they make us think, they make us question. They don’t leave us in our comfort zone. I make better music because of untold stories.”

Tlale Makhene on performing with Moreira Chonguica:

“It is always a lovely ride. Every time we play together it is an exciting moment because you don’t know what is going to happen. When we play music together it is not about the attitude, it is about the music; especially with Moreira there is no agenda except the music.”

On having more venues for performance:

“Playing here in City Hall signifies a new start for Cape Town; a new start for South Africa. My wish is that all the mayor town halls would take this example and host performances likes this and bring back the most important aspect of music; the tradition of performance. Town halls across the country should be playing host to this tradition and bringing music back to the stage. Thank you to everyone who thought of this idea and for bringing artists together to do this.”

Shauna Delport (production crew member) on producing City Hall Sessions:

“Music is a very powerful vehicle to deliver a message to an audience. What I am doing and what I am a part of is putting together the space for that message to be delivered.”

Rhoda Isaacs (production manager) on City Hall Sessions:

“I missed working on one of the City Hall Sessions: I was working on another gig and I was very sour that I didn’t get to work on it, but I came to watch the show. And I was like, ‘OH WOW!’ – it was a whole other experience. I actually got to watch the show from start to finish. Of course I was wondering what was going on back there. I love the music that is why I love doing this; it is about the music.” On being a production manager: “Often you are back here in the production office or you are on the side of the stage or watching from some vantage point and you still enjoy it. I might not get to see every expression on the artist’s face or all the lighting but I get a fuller experience actually. People don’t see the beautiful moments backstage with artists; impromptu performance or crazy behaviour where you get to see the person as opposed to the performer. I am always in awe of them but not awestruck. I love what we get to see behind the scenes.”

Johan Griesel (sound engineer) on City Hall’s acoustics:

“It is a beautiful old place but it is a challenge acoustically – one that we will overcome. Over time we’ve learnt that it works best to ‘fly’ the public address system from the roof and aim it down toward the audience. The City Hall doesn’t have great acoustics: The ceiling is very high and it has no acoustic panelling. It was really built for orchestra music. You have to work with the venue instead of against it.”

On collaborating with artists:

“Communication and trust is important when you work with the artists. I have been doing this for 30 years and I know all of them. It makes it easy to work together which is essential because basically their music goes through my hands.”

Rafiq Asmal (stage manager, in the red shirt above) on working at City Hall:

“I have a particular affinity for this beautiful building here seeing as Steve (Gordon) and I, we did the public address system for Nelson Mandela when he spoke here after his release. So the first gig I did here, I heard the roar of freedom and it was an amazing thing. Twenty years later and I am working in the same building again.”

On being a stage manager:

“Being a stage manager is the best position to be in – apart from being a musician. You are on the stage; you hear what the musicians hear; I am right there. I don’t also hear the full performance because I am engaged in other things, but I am as close to the performance as anybody can get. If I couldn’t do it [be a professional musician], I got myself as close as I could get.”

Sam Zatsi (from EMS Medicare) on being an on-site emergency medic:

“A human is a human being; the anatomy stays the same no matter where you treat them.”

Derek Easton (piano tuner) on what it takes to be a good piano tuner:

“You have to have a lot of patience and interest in the work. It is a process of one step at a time. You’re always comparing one thing against another; it is all relative. We have some means of setting the pitch and then from that one note you can tune the rest. Tuning is a not necessarily a musical skill, it is a technical skill. You don’t have to musical to be a good piano tuner. I play too, not wonderfully, but enough to sympathise with pianos and pianists – it is nice to be serving music.”

Zamo Mbutho (of Amaryoni) on having the opportunity to collaborate:

“It has been so exciting. I feel honoured to be part of this celebration as a South African. Having the chance as artists to collaborate is always so interesting. It gives us the opportunity to bring out different colours in the music and in ourselves. We are doing a piece of McCoy Mrubata’s and as an a capella group working with a band, it just adds so much colour and so many layers to the music. I always feel like we need more opportunities like this to collaborate.”

The City Hall Sessions series is a project of Creative Cape Town, a programme of Cape Town Partnership, and is supported by the National Lottery Development Trust Fund, with assistance from the City of Cape Town. The series started in 2011, bringing a dynamic and diverse range of musical collaborations to Cape Town’s City Hall. Artists featured to date include Ray Lema, Chico César, Thandiswa Mazwai, Ismaël Lô, Azania Ghetto Sounds, Kesivan & The Lights, Closet Snare, Caiphus Semenya, Madala Kunene, and a host of special guests.

City Hall Sessions is project managed for Cape Town Partnership by Steve Gordon and Farzanah Badsha

MC for the evening was Evan Milton

The Freedom Day Concert was produced by Making Music Productions:
Artists, repertoire and show direction: Christian Syren, Steve Gordon
Production Manager: Rhoda Isaacs
Technical Direction: Steve Gordon, Ian Florence
Production Assistants: Shauna Delport, Rowan Roberts
Stage Manager: Rafiq Asmal
Backliner: Denver Davidson
Front of House, vending: Andre Swanepoel
Finances, admin and backstage support: Esmeralda Willems, Zainu Taliep
Audience development and documentation: Thabo Bopape, Eugene Arries
Otherwise assisting: Themba Tshabalala, Alex Bozas

Key suppliers:
Eastern Acoustics, with special thanks to Akkie Khan and Johan Griessel
Unfazed Lighting, with special thanks to JP Wilson
Security: CP Security, and CCID

Artists:
Amaryoni:
Zamokuhle Mbutho
Nqobile Mbanjwa
Thulani Galane
Siphiwe Ngubane
Mfana Nxumalo

Paul Hanmer (piano)
McCoy Mrubata (tenor sax, flute and voice)
Ayanda Sikade (drums)
Pete Sklair (bass)
Jabu Magubane (trombone)
Feya Faku (trumpet)

The Moreira Project:
Moreira Chonguica
Camillo Lombard (keyboard)
Tlale Makhene (percussion)
Helder Gonzaga (bass)
Angelo Syster (guitar)
Kevin Gibson (drums)

 Interviews by Alma Viviers. Photos by Eugene Arries

You were born in District One, on the Foreshore and today you are Dean of St George’s Cathedral. While these two areas are geographically close the distance between them is great in other ways. Could you tell us a little of your journey in between?

“I was born at the Cape Peninsula Maternity Home in District 6: ‘Born on a Wednesday’ my mother would dryly observe during my grumpy, adolescent years, ‘a child of woe’.  We were living then with my paternal grandmother in a tenement flat on Amsterdam Street off Ebenezer in District 1. (The offices of Saatchi & Saatchi are now on that site). We were moved out of there as part of a forced removal to make way for the new highway, the same one – both tragically and ironically – that was never completed. Things came apart a bit as my parent divorced and we found our way to Cravenby Estate, the Indian section of Elsies River. We lived in the Servants-Quarter of Mr Ramphal Singh, a businessman prominent in local Indian politics.  Elsie’s River was a culturally diverse and different: Our immediate neighbours were the Chetty family originally from Durban. Their young boys, Nadrajan and Progasan were my first friends in the area. That part of my childhood community was mainly Muslim and Hindu people. The fathers of some of my tjommies on Fortieth Street were Malawians and Xhosa-speakers. A lot of the people there had originally come from Namaqualand. I understand that the area had once been a large Khoi settlement under Princess Elsie whose kraal had been along the banks of the river and from whom the area got its name. I learnt to negotiate my way through these cross-cultural and coming so young from Cape Town I was always on the border – partially in but mostly on the edge but not completely so.  So, I had many homes, literally and otherwise, which welcomed me. While belonging to no one exclusively I was embraced by all in different ways. I was blessed in that way living in some ways in a borderland where I am both and neither at the same time. An experience shared by many, I know.”

What is your relationship with music?

“Springbok Radio.  It was on radio that I was first introduced to the likes of the Jackson Five, The Osmonds to the Beatles and Cliff Richard and of course, Elvis! Those sounds that gave us the soundtrack to our life from Monday to Saturday, Sunday music was different. After church we had to come straight home, to ‘bring the blessing’. While we peeled potatoes the radio was tuned into ‘The Bell Tower’ playing what we called ‘bra music’ – “music, warm, comforting and uplifting”.  The Kings Messengers, choirs from Canterbury Cathedral …  In the evening the English Radio station played classical music as we ironed our shirts or brushed and polished shoes, and making sandwiches for the next day. Just slowing down. During the school holidays we were always with Mama, my maternal granny on Beatty Avenue in Garden Village, which is near Vincent Pallotti Hospital.  Now and then we would witness in one of the homes up the street the khalifah or Ratiep – a legacy of Sufi mysticism I think from Indonesia. We witnessed and were drawn into these sounds of furious drumming, singing with its eastern cadence and longing.

When I was older my relationship with music changed. I was introduced to the likes of Percy Sledge, the manhattans and The Main Ingredient and then later to jazz. It was that happy, street-wise saxophone of Robbie Jansen and Basil Coetzee on Dollar Brand’s “Mannenberg” that got me doing the ‘kapzella; My wife, Bonita, who was then my girlfriend, laughed because she thought I was being deliberately comic.” 

What spaces in the city inspire you? 

“One place is Loader Street in the Bokaap. My great granny lived there. I had no connection to her since she passed away before I knew her but it is from here that my paternal family came from, from the slave estates along Somerset Road. So I would often come here and walk up the road – the view of the city from there is beautiful. Another place is the Platteklip Gorge. To borrow a term from Celtic mythology, I think it is one of those “thin places”, where heaven and earth are close together. Lastly, I would say the V&A waterfront, because while Platteklip is spiritual in essence, the Waterfront has an earthier lure. I go there to watch a movie and imbibe the smell of coffee, scented with the perfumes consequent to my quick visit to Red Door at Edgars”.

In South Africa, as around the world, music and song has often been used as a means of subversion. Do you agree that music can be an effective means of protest? 

“Let me tell you something. I was travelling towards Mitchells Plain heading in the direction of the Goodwood Showground during the State of Emergency. As I drove over the bridge there ahead were the blue-lights of a road-block. Soldiers with their rifles lined the 500 metres or so between where I was a in a line of cars slowly marshalled towards the cops ahead who were selectively  pulling cars off. Searching the boot. Already some students were at the back of a police van.  I had sufficient UDF posters and pamphlets in my car to get their attention. A cassette of the late Robbie Jansen was playing in my car music system. He was singing, “Freedom, where have you been, I’ve been searching all over”. As I inched forward towards what seemed imminent arrest I kept the tape playing but turning it softer all the while till all I could hear Robbie whispering “freedom, where have you been hiding yourself…” Somehow the voice and sound attuned me to the spirits of our Khoisan ancestors so by the policeman’s flashlight lit up my face I could calmly muster calmly muster a, ‘Good evening, meneer’ and the officer waved me through. By the time I was heading past Bonteheuwel I turned up my system and Robbie was singing ‘hoya-tjie-bongo’.”

What role do you see St George’s cathedral playing in the life of the Central City in the future? 

The Cathedral along with its rich and significant role in the struggle for justice and peace has also been complicit history in the unfolding life of the country. Its complicity, in the first instance, is evident in the fact that it is a Cathedral, a neo-Gothic architectural expression of a European understanding of God, built by European colonisers whose theological constructs were used to cement their power over the local inhabitants.

I think we must live honestly with our colonial legacy. For example, if you come to the cathedral, in the St David’s Chapel you will still see all the flags of the British Empire, although now they are a little tattered. I think it is important that they remain, not only because they also tell a story of valour, of a courageous people but also because, in our conflicted past, we must also mirror our current contradictions. All our children must know this story as we compelled to depict the story of the hunted and the dispossessed. In a similar the high standard of Cathedral music must be maintained but as ‘A People’s Cathedral’ also incorporate the music of the city’s diverse commonwealth of communities.”

Last year I was approached by a group which consisted of members of the city’s jazz fraternity, including Spencer Mbadu the celebrated jazz bassist, and Derk Blaisse, a Franschoek restaurateur and Mike Rossi, a professor at the UCT School of Music. They were interested in the use of the Crypt as an after-hours coffee-shop/ jazz café. There was a strong development aspect to their approach that attracted me and it also spoke to our Cathedral mission that sought ‘Spiritual enrichment using prayer, worship, music and the arts’.  They were keen to have access to a space that would enable young and upcoming musicians along with established ones to have some income and a platform to showcase their ability. I introduced Mario who wished to open a restaurant in the Crypt to Derk. I sensed there was some potential synergy between the two approaches. The Crypt Jazz Restaurant and Coffee-shop was the outcome of this marriage of ideas.

Text by Ambre Nicolson. Photo by Lisa Burnell. This article first appeared in the April 2013 issue of City Views. Read it online.

Andrew Boraine – after nearly ten years with the Cape Town Partnership – will be stepping down as Chief Executive, effective as of 30 April 2013. Most excitingly, he will continue to work with the organisation in a new role. He will be assisting the Partnership in drawing on lessons learnt during the organisation’s 13 years of existence and applying these to the design of effective partnerships for development. He has also been appointed as acting CEO of the Western Cape Economic Development Partnership. We look forward to working with him in this new capacity.

As of 1 May 2013, Bulelwa Makalima-Ngewana, who has been serving as Managing Director since early 2011 and has been with the Partnership since 2004, will be stepping into the role of Chief Executive, where she will have the full responsibility of guiding and steering the organisation as it continues to facilitate partnerships for urban transformation.

Bulelwa and Andrew have worked closely together in the last eight years as an effective leadership team. It is exciting that, while changing roles, these two leaders will continue to work together, designing partnerships for urban transformation and socio-economic development.

Please join us in wishing them well in their new positions, and acknowledging the significant contribution both have made to the life and livelihood of the Cape Town Partnership.

The gathering was part of a two-day meeting of National Treasury’s Economies of Regions Learning Network – connecting policymakers and practitioners in Johannesburg, KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape and helping them learn, engage and share ideas on how to support economic growth and the creation of jobs.

With Iain Harris of Coffeebeans Routes facilitating, the evening kicked off with a rendition of Blue Monk – a popular jazz standard written in the 1960s by the American composer and pianist Thelonious Monk – and performed by a four-man ensemble of Kesivan Naidoo on drums, Lee Thompson on trumpet, Bokani Dyer on piano and Shane Cooper on bass.

Lesson #1: You need to understand where you’ve come from in order to know where you’re going.

Back when it was written, Kesivan explained, the piece was considered thoroughly modern. Now it’s just a part of the jazz tradition: “It doesn’t explore the harmonies the way we do today, so when we hear it as musicians, it takes us back to a particular period in jazz. What this means is that, whenever we play jazz, we have to understand the ‘language’ of a piece first – when it was composed. It is only once we understand this that we can begin to improvise around it. The tradition of jazz is that it constantly tries to break the mould.”

Lesson #2: Collaboration is like a good conversation. You need to listen carefully and respond appropriately.

Demonstrating the level of improvisation that could take place across a variety of different pieces, Kesivan explained (in between the music) how individual jazz musicians are able to collaborate on a piece even if they haven’t played it together before: “When one musician is improvising, all the others take their cues from him. The rhythm is kept going by the drums and base. It’s a call and response.”

Form, however, is everything. “We may deviate away but everyone knows the form – the structure – and no matter how far we go off into improvisation, we always come back to it.”

Lee added: “Improvisation is spontaneous composition – you improvise until something really grabs you. We’re having a conversation with the words and language we know. There is always someone in the lead, but we can allow that leader to change from one band member to another throughout a number.” 

Lesson #3: Leave your ego at the door: there’s no “I” in band. Or in team.

This is when workshop participant Peet du Plooy of Trade and Industry Policy Strategies (TIPS) started to see the parallels to his own line of work: “Workshops are arenas in which it is often much to harder to improvise. It’s in our nature that we feel more comfortable when just one person takes the lead constantly.”

“So the magic in a workshop happens, however, when you step outside that norm and others participate actively, taking the lead themselves and giving freely of their ideas no matter how outlandish they may be. Then the beauty of collaboration takes place. You suddenly feel part of something important that you’re proud to be contributing towards, and you don’t feel afraid to do so. But even then, and just like jazz, you’ve got to know the rules of engagement before you break them.

“And just like jazz, the key to any collaborative process is to get to know each participant as an individual first and to be able to respect them for the contribution they bring, but at the same time you also need to be assured that they will understand the non-negotiables. That’s when you begin to trust that you can explore different avenues together – and off you go.”

Curious about the leadership dynamics in the band, participant Dhiresh Ramklass of National Treasury’s Technical Assistance Unit observed that every instrument has had a chance in taking the lead, with the exception of the drums. “There’s no ‘I’ in band,” explained Kesivan, “If you are a good accompanist, you make the soloist sound good.”

Lesson #4: Start on common ground, and then allow yourself to experiment

Having mentioned the non-negotiables, and defining these in jazz as understanding the form, Iain wondered out loud how the band handled the negotiables in a highly improvised piece – in this case the family favourite Meet the Flintstones, which the band proceeded to transform from the highly recognisable to an elaborate improvisation and back again in a matter of minutes. “Jazz music often takes you to a space where you find yourself on a precipice and yet, as a band, you then still manage to pull it back.”

“The thing about the Flintstones number,” explained Kesivan, “is that you start with familiar common ground and this enables you to create a safe space from which each band member can experiment.”

Lesson #5: Remember: We’re all in this together

But what happens if someone’s not such a good band member, wondered participant Estelle Cloete of the EDP.

“It’s not a case of saying – in jazz – that someone’s not a good teamplayer,” countered Bokani. “It’s more about realising that they may just be in an environment that doesn’t complement them at the time.”

“Plus,” concluded Kesivan, “you should never judge someone just on what they play. You need to understand where they come from musically, who they like to listen to, where their influences come from … again, you always need to look back to be able to look forward.”

In loving memory:

This article is dedicated to the memory of Peet du Plooy, programme manager of sustainable growth, at TIPS, who participated so vibrantly not only throughout the Economies of Regions Learning Network process, but in his dreams for collaboration in South Africa – and who then had his life cut tragically short on Sunday 10 March 2013.

Text by Carola Koblitz, photo by Jonx Pillemer. This article first appeared in the April 2013 issue of City Views. Read it online.