shebeen /SHəˈbēn/

- about: sweet home farm -

The project seeks to explore the complex nature of urbanism in Sweet Home Farm through an examination of the role of shebeens. The project entails a partnership and intellectual collaboration between the Sustainable Livelihoods Foundation and UrbanWorks Architecture and Urbanism. The project was partially funded through the Sustainable Livelihood Foundation’s Formalising Informal Micro-Enterprises (FIME) Project. We acknowledge the financial support of South African Breweries towards this Project. Thanks to Alexandra from UrbanWorks for developing the web-site and the research team: Thiresh (architectural drawings) and Bronwyn (photographs) of UrbanWorks and Andrew (project coordination) Leif (analysis), Siwe (community facilitation) and Khaya (translation and facilitation) of Sustainable Livelihoods.

Sweet Home Farm is a densely populated slum settlement, situated on the periphery of Philippi in Cape Town. The settlement came into public attention in 2011 when a pack of dogs attacked and killed a young child. There are no formal houses or roads in Sweet Home Farm. The settlement is home to about 17,000 people who live in small shacks, closely packed together. Some houses have tiny, enclosed yards, though many have none. The area has no formal parks or recreational facilities.
Landing