Organizing on the Streets: A Study of Reclaimers in ... - Inclusive Cities

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WIEGO <strong>Organizing</strong> Serieswhen they are free or do not have materials for the project. CORC then collects these bottles fromthe waste pickers’ houses every Thursday.They have noted that they are exposed to various dangerous situations, such as rape, robbery andhealth hazards. They are interested to be in contact with organizations that will help them benefitdirectly from waste picking and expanding their project.6 Masakhe Ubuzwe (Building the Nation) Community ProjectMasakhe Ubuzwe Community Project is a community-based project in Philippi-Gugulethu thatdecided to collect bottles for recycling. Mainly elderly and young women are involved in theproject. They collect bottles and recycle them by making drinking glasses which they sell for R5per glass. They ask CORC to transport the scrap bottles. Some waste pickers were dissatisfied withtheir leaders. There was a feeling that waste pickers were not getting enough proceeds from theprojects and they could not really explain how any proceeds are shared.7 Tsoga (Wake-up) Community ProjectTsoga is a (Sotho name for wake-up) a community-based project established in 1993 to provideenvironmental education and training. It also had a recycling centre and a small market garden.They worked closely with local communities on issues such as littering, food gardening andgreening of parks, a nursery, beading and weaving, sewing and glass recycling. The project aimsto develop the capacity of unemployed women, who had no alternative means of survival. Thereare crafts available at the centre, some made from waste materials such as plastic bags. Tsoga nolonger has the lease on the building, and a computer centre now uses the space temporarily. 27 Thegroup now operates under a new name, Masithembane from a new venue in Samora Machel inWeltevreden Valley. It is continuing with the recyling project (see below).Masithembane (trusting each other) was one such group of unemployed women. They werepreviously residents of Joe Slovo informal settlement in Langa, who had been involved in Tsoga’sactivities. They were subsequently moved into a newly established RDP housing section inSamora Machel in Weltevreden Valley. Masithambane currently has twenty women membersmostly from the Samora Machel informal settlement and they are now an affiliate of the PoorPeople’s Movement, which is a savings scheme, in Philippi. It was claimed by Masibambanethat they are no longer generating income the same way they did under Tsoga. They claim thatthey are suffering at a time when food prices are so high and their lives are difficult. They alsoreported that they have water cut-offs in the area and they do not have protective clothing. Peoplefrom CORC collect glass bottles every Friday. They do not know to whom or where they sell thisglass. They also have to wait a long time for their payment. The group wishes to sell directly tothe companies that their intermediaries are selling to, but unfortunately they do not know wherethose companies are located.The majority of the group live in unpleasant and hazardous areas. The Samora Machel informalsettlement is close to a dumping site, the area is filthy, with flies, filled with dirty water andsewerage flooding around their shacks. The organization group wants the Tsoga building back andis planning to fight the ANC people who evicted them. They want the City of Cape Town to providethem with protective clothing, wages and insurance benefits as they argue “we are cleaning areasthat are meant to be cleaned by their workers or contractors”. An organization of waste pickers isimportant to fight the abuse and exploitation from both buy-back centres and the city council. Theyfeel that the already existing organizations should raise awareness among waste pickers.8 Siyabulela (To Be Grateful) Group from Luzuko along the Lansdowne CorridorThis is a 12 member group, involved in a recycling project. They keep their collection in a shippingcontainer near Luzuko along the Lansdowne Road corridor. They collect glass bottles, cans andplastic in the surrounding areas of Philippi and Old Cross Roads. Their day starts at 7h30 until27 Tsoga Environmental Centre and Recycling Depot (source www.corc.co.za/snailproject.html )26
<strong>Organizing</strong> on the Streets: A Study of Reclaimers in the Streets of Cape Townabout 16h00. They sell their collection to an intermediary who pays them far better than theprevious intermediary. Their earnings have improved from R4 a load to R40 a load. They do nothave their own transport or protective clothing. The group claimed that they are not coveredby any laws of the country that would ordinarily be enjoyed by other workers. They have nounemployment or death insurance or any form of a disaster fund. They feel that the state shouldbe providing these kinds of insurances to also cover them. The group is of the view that there is anurgent need to organize waste pickers around the challenges that they face. They see themselvescontributing to the country’s wealth and yet they are not valued for their efforts. One member ofthe group said “we need to organize waste pickers in other areas, so that our presence is felt bythose in businesses and in government”. The group feels that the conditions they work under areof concern; hence they see the need to organize, although they believe that language could pose abarrier when organizing.B. Scoping Exercise Survey Form & QuestionnaireInterview Questions for Focus Area StudyThis is an in depth study in one area that explores how waste pickers in this area organize their daily work,whether and how they are organized more formally, how they relate to each other, whether and how they cooperatewith each other, how they relate to other groups (such as street traders, security, local community groups,etc), whom they sell to, the challenges they face, and the possibilities and potential for collective organization.This will be an area we have already been to scope, so you may recognize or be recognized bypeople in the area.In approaching reclaimers, introduce yourself and explain that:• you are doing research on the work of reclaiming/collecting and are interested in what theyare doing, how they do it, and why.• it is part of a research project for an organization interested in informal work, and workersorganizing for a better life.• we have already spoken to reclaimers in XX area and would like to get a better idea of someof the issues they face in their work/lives.• explain how long this interview will take, and how long you will be in the area for.• ask if you can take their photo.• leave them with an info sheet so that they can know more about the project, and contact uswith questions about this project, and about getting involved in our projects/forums/etc…You will need: question forms, clip board, pens, info sheets, camera, a recorder, and a reflectionsheet to fill in at the end of each day. One person should be holding the recorder and askingthe questions and maintaining a conversation posture (asking, listening, responding), while theother takes copious notes and can also ask follow-up questions. However, do not rely only on therecorder, since they often fail even if it seems to be working!Questions for Researchers:Researchers’ names:Date & Time in the area:What do you already know about the area and how work is organized here from previousvisits/conversations?Do a walk around and get a sense/map the area: where are the buy-back centres, the main roads, etc:27
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