Motsoaledi community, Soweto, Jo'burg

Motsoaledi is a squatter camp informal settlement in Soweto Township. The houses are small tin shacks, some with small gardens of maize and tomatoes, pit toilets, and a few water spigots here and there. Scattered around are shebeens (bars) and little shops.

Yet, as you enter one yard, things are different. First, you notice the spray-painted sign "Books are weapons." Inside one shack you find a community library and meeting place. The next shack is the community kitchen. Down the path you find a giant organic garden, overflowing with mouth-watering carrots, tomatoes, onions, herbs, greens and salads, cabbage and more.

Yes, this is an oasis of resistance to poverty and capitalistic domination, an example of community empowerment, within the messy legacy of apartheid and economic oppression. I spent a week there (over a few visits), feeling quite at home in this community, having a great time sharing strategies.
The library