Episodes
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Charlton Alexander is a son of Cape Town. He loves his wife Lauren and his son Reth, and the rest of the world in its beautiful brokenness. He is a Tour Guide/Facilitator looking to move through the (liminal) spaces that tell us the stories of the people and the land. He invites guests to the city to connect with the people and land in experiences that are life altering. ‘Charlie’, as he is fondly known, has a deep desire to see local churches sing more local (contextual) music, rather than importing music from the globe. He encourages this through dialogue, praxis and contextual Bible studies.
Barry Lewis is the director of UBU (Ubuhle Bakha Ubuhle / Beauty Builds Beauty), a company specifically focussed on developing the technology of Sandbag Housing in low income communities in South Africa. Formally an architect from the UK Barry arrived in Cape Town in 2009 and worked for The Warehouse Trust (NGO) before founding UBU in 2012, specifically working in an informal community called Sweet Home Farm in Philippi. UBU played the role of facilitator in the City of Cape Town’s UISP (Upgrade of Informal Settlements Program) project in the community, whilst developing the idea of the Process House, an incremental model of housing utilising Sandbags and EcoBeams all built by members of the community over a 2.5 year period. UBU’s mission is to activate and equip humans to self-build places of belonging, in both formal and informal contexts.
In this episode we speak about home, belonging, assimilation and Barry introduces us to a framework to ask different questions. We consider the idea that the questions we ask profoundly shape the solutions we get. We ask questions about Cape Town and the maintenance of the legacy of Colonisation and Apartheid. We also laugh a lot and learn about a beautiful friendship, or kinship, between two people finding their way in the world.
Charlie and Barry both speak about a Thursday night community dinner. This is hosted by an NPO called New Hope SA. New Hope relies on donations to host its Thursday night dinner, it is a great organisation to support.
Near the end of the episode Charlie names Sesihle Manzini and Jonathan Jansen as people doing work on the ground. Sesihle, through the vehicle of Anno Domini, focuses on storytelling and contextualising the South African situation. She recently released a documentary called A Piece of Ground which focuses on issues of spatial segregation in Cape Town. Jonathan is a community worker based in Manenberg doing important work caring for his community.
The music in Episode 5 is composed and arranged by Arkenstone (Rashid Epstein Adams), Pursuit and Common Hymnal, including a kalimba-centered reimagination of the latter group’s song “The Kingdom Is Yours”.
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Nadia Agherdine is an active citizen deeply involved in the preservation of cultural heritage and the promotion of immersive travel experiences. She is a Tour Operator and qualified tour guide and serves as the Vice Chairperson of the Salt River Heritage Society. Through her role, Nadia passionately works to safeguard the cultural and historical legacy of Salt River, engaging both locals and visitors in the rich traditions and stories of the area. Her dedication to cultural preservation and education ensures that the heritage of Salt River is not only protected but also celebrated and shared with a wider audience.
Waseela Everson is the Secretary General of the Salt River Heritage Society. She is a teacher (retired) and started her teaching career on the Cape Flats. Her career led her to teach at the National University of Lesotho International School. It concluded being H.O.D at the International School of South Africa and House Parent of the Junior Hostel. She grounds herself in community and advocates for social justice. She values kindness above most things and has genuine care and consideration for everyone around her. A sense of humour and tenacious spirit see her through most challenges.
The themes we explore in this episode include heritage and identity and why it is important to reflect on. Nadia and Waseela tell us about the Salt River Heritage Society. We talk about green spaces in urban areas and public art. In our conversation we consider the complex nature of our own heritages as people of Colour and Coloured people. Waseela introduces us to the term Camissa African and we explore how the term “Coloured” is sometimes used, sometimes rejected and more recently being reinterpreted in South Africa.
The gardening NPO Nadia speaks about is Neighborhood Gardens. The Salt River Heritage Society has a Facebook page to keep up with their latest work.
Rashid references a newspaper article titled Twang Yusuf and written by Fu’ad Rahman. It appeared in the publication Africa Muslim Voice.
The music in Episode 5 is composed and arranged by Arkenstone (Rashid Epstein Adams) and Pursuit. The songs include "iKhaya Lethu", "Margins", "Camissa (Sweet Waters)", and "Kai !Garib (Great River)".
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Episodes manquant?
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Thami is a singer-songwriter and musician, passionate about the transformative essence of musical alchemy. Her current artistic expression is rooted in creating immersive soundscapes that in some ways transcend traditional boundaries, with the potential to offer a narrative journey. She hopes to create auditory spaces that encourage restful resistance through self-reflection, while provoking forms of healing.
Zach is an artist and local food co-op host. Right now he cares about exorcism - be it queer hatred in the church, imperial imagination from the walls of the suburbs, or of the shame we hold in our bodies. Zach believes wholeheartedly in gathering together over a delicious meal.
The themes we explore in this episode relate to finding healing and belonging in a disembodied world as we find healing and belonging in our bodies. The episode includes original music by Thami and original poetry by Tristan. It is meant to be a moment to breathe in a turbulent and troubling world.
The Poem Tristan reads is an original piece by him called Breathe. The song at the end of the episode is an original song by Thami and is currently untitled.
You can find more of Thami’s work on Youtube and Instagram. You can find more of Zach’s work on Instagram.
The music in Episode 4 is composed and arranged by Thami James and Arkenstone (Rashid Epstein Adams).
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Ashley Visagie is a co-founder of Bottomup which promotes critical awareness among high school students. Ashley has a deep concern for youth in South Africa who suffer because of the unjust education system and seeks to contest deficit narratives. He is optimistic that a more fair and just world is possible but also believes that the kind of systemic changes required call for engagements that are not trivial or easily accomplished.
Helene Rousseau is a co-founder of Bottomup and strives to facilitate critical education with young people. She has an interest in dialogical learning and the implementation of culturally responsive teaching. She loves curating resources and materials that are relevant to youth that can further develop their knowledge to promote a better world.
From Bottomup’s website (bottomup.org.za): “Bottomup is a youth organisation promoting socially-engaged youth leadership. We believe that youth participation in society is necessary for building a healthy democracy and that if we are to build a more egalitarian and sustainable society, then children and youth must play an active role as co-constructors in re-making the world.”
Ashely and Helene join us in this Episode. We trace their journey from the founding of Bottomup to where they are now. As the story of bottom up is unveiled we also hear how Ashley and Helene’s views, approaches and methodologies change. Particularly striking are their reflections on “Critical Hope” and they introduce us to the phrase “Children as co-constructors of the world”.
The quote read by Helene in the episode is from Paulo Freire’s, A Pedagogy of hope:
“The idea that hope alone will transform the world, and action undertaken in that kind of naïveté, is an excellent route to hopelessness, pessimism, and fatalism. But the attempt to do without hope, in the struggle to improve the world, as if that struggle could be reduced to calculated acts alone, or a purely scientific approach, is a frivolous illusion.”
The paper Helene references on Critical Hope is “Note to Educators: Hope Required When Growing Roses in Concrete” written by Jeffrey M.R Duncan-Andrade.
The music in Episode 3 is composed, arranged and curated by Arkenstone (Rashid Epstein Adams). -
Thandi Gamedze is a writer, a poet, a facilitator and soon to be post doctorate fellow at The Desmond Tutu Centre for Religion and Social Justice, at the University of the Western Cape. The glue connecting all the varied bits and pieces of Thandi’s work is a deep commitment to the work of critique and reimagining (as both action and reflection) towards a world that is just, nurturing and kind. Thandi is based in Cape Town, South Africa, and works for The Warehouse, an organisation which envisions a reality in which churches are living out the peace and justice of God for the world.
Thandi joins us for this episode, and she reflects on the stories that currently ground her. Our conversation meanders through the story of Moses's liberation from assimilation into the Egyptian Empire of the day and then morphs into the liberative potential of the story of brown Jesus. We also speak about the ‘D’ word. Decolonisation of the Bible or Jesus or God will take work still but we at least begin exploring some of dominant narratives in Christianity (and its impact on the world) and what it would mean to reframe it in a decolonised alternative narrative.
We also hear two of Thandi’s original poems in the episode which is a catharsis and a balm. The first poem is “Jesus of Occupied Palestine” and the second is “Victory?”.
The James Cone quote in the episode is from his book “God of the Oppressed”:
“Christ is black, therefore, not because of some cultural or psychological need of black people, but because and only because Christ really enters into our world where the poor, the despised, and the black are, disclosing that he is with them, enduring their humiliation and pain and transforming oppressed slaves into liberated servants.”
The music in Episode 2 is composed, arranged and curated by Arkenstone (Rashid Epstein Adams) and Pursuit.
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In this first episode Rashid and Tristan share the vision and purpose of the podcast. This is an introduction to our thinking about why the podcast exists and what to expect from future episodes.
We introduce this podcast as a liminal space. We introduce Cape Town as a liminal space. And then we suggest that remaining in the liminal space could spur on an imagination for a better world. Storytelling in turn helps us access imagination.
The music in Episode 1 is composed, arranged and curated by Arkenstone (Rashid Epstein Adams), including the songs "Driftwood", "The Deep" and "Kai !Garib (Great River)".
