published by Elena on Sat, 02/19/2011 - 16:52
The city of Cape Town consists of over three million inhabitants, out of which two thirds live in so called townships. Over a recent visit to these thriving communities, some of which are very poor still, I came to observe that creative tourism could be a real development option for certain parts of these communities. Particularly, given the fact that tourism is already set up there and working for the local community who are offering day tours for visitors and providing inspiring examples of socio-economic development there.
People from the township called Langa presented us with a craft market showing hand-crafted wire work, beads and wooden carved masks. It might only be a small step to incorporate visitors in this process, i.e. finding a community hall of some sort and offer a one or two hour interactive workshop of making these crafts together with a small group of local producers and visitors. The socio-cultural aspect would be satisfied in terms of visitors and locals meeting on equal levels, the culture behind the art work being explained, and the locals could be provided with an additional source of income: They are able to charge a higher price for the value of the tuition and the souvenirs people get to take home with them, naturally hand-made in South Africa! A great opportunity for a change for the better.
