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Kwanele!
‘Enough is enough! Now for something else!’
Participant Workbook
Action and Reflection Activities for Street,
Market and Cross-border Traders who Trade in
the Informal Economy in the SADC Region
Ecumenical Service for Socio-Economic Transformation (ESSET)
Kwanele! ‘Enough is enough! Now for something else!’
Action and Reflection Activities for Street, Market and Cross-border Traders who Trade in the Informal Economy in
the SADC Region
2013 Ecumenical Service for Socio-Economic Transformation (ESSET)
You are free to share these materials with anyone you like as long as you do not do this in order to make money. You can
make copies, and when you do, please put in the reference (that is, please say where the materials come from).
Written by: Britt Baatjes
Illustrations by: Len Sak
Design and Layout by: John Bertram, Tangerine Design
Published by: Ecumenical Service for Socio-Economic Transformation (ESSET), Johannesburg, 2013
Ecumenical Service for Socio-Economic Transformation (ESSET)
Office 604
6th Floor, Khotso House
62 Marshall Street
Johannesburg 2107
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank the following countries, organisations and individuals who gave ideas and suggestions for the
development of these materials:
Lesotho: Lucia Konyana, Tsolo Lebitsa;
Khathang Tema Baitsokuli
South Africa: Cecelia Dube, Siya Gidi, Veronica Mophulane, Sipho Thwala, Thandiwe Xulu, Thokozani Olwathunde, Micheal
Mokulubete, Mandla Mtshali, Dan Kiva, Charles Riedwaan, Simon Vilakazi;
SADC Informal Traders Network, Gauteng Informal Development Association, Economic Justice Network, Western Cape
Informal Traders Association, Western Cape Council of Churches, South African Self-Employed Women’s Association, Women
Informal Development Forum
Swaziland: Bheva Hlophe, Sbulelo Mlilo, Colani Hlatjwayo;
Coalition of Informal Economy Associations of Swaziland, Women and Law
Zambia: Regina Muwowo, Dulon Muwowo, Musa Mumba;
Copperbelt Cross Border Traders & Integrated Business Association
Zimbabwe: Beautenance Toriro;
Regional Trade Export Trust
ESSET staff and management:
Thembela Njenga
Monwabisi Mcopela
Busi Thabane
Ibrahim Steyn Sonto Magwaza
Mandla Mndebele
Thabo Koole
Aziwe Magida
The development of these materials was made possible through funding from the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality
and the Empowerment of Women – Southern Africa and Indian Ocean Islands and the Open Society Initiative for Southern
Africa (OSISA).
The information contained in these materials is not the official position of UN Women.
Kwanele! – Enough is enough! Now for something else!’ Participant Workbook
Contents
Topic One:
The World We Live In��1
What are these activities about?��1
ACTIVITY ONE��1
ACTIVITY TWO�� 3
ACTIVITY THREE�� 3
ACTIVITY FOUR�� 5
ACTIVITY FIVE�� 8
ACTIVITY SIX�� 11
Topic Two:
Policies and Rights��13
What are these activities about?��14
ACTIVITY ONE��14
ACTIVITY TWO ��17
ACTIVITY THREE ��19
ACTIVITY FOUR�� 20
Topic Three:
Organisations�� 27
What is this activity about?�� 28
ACTIVITY ONE�� 28
Topic Four:
Take Action!�� 45
ACTIVITY ONE��46
What is this activity about?��46
References�� 53
About the Materials/Activities
These materials/activities were put together to be used by street, market and cross-border
traders who work in the informal economy in the SADC region, and would like to learn more
about globalisation, capitalism, the free market economy and its impact on people; organisations
and leadership; policies and practice; the ‘right to rights’; and organising. The activities include
theory; reflection on theory and practice; and a call to action!
There are four topics in this workbook:
• The world we live in
• Policies and rights
•Organisations
• Take action!
The first few activities deal mainly with theory and its relationship to you (trader) and what you
do. The activities that come later deal mainly with analysing issues concerning you and with
action.
This is not a ‘course’ in the traditional sense of the word. As you know, small-scale traders do not
have a lot of time to sit in training courses, hence we have put together a series of activities for
you to work through. You, in consultation with the facilitator, can decide how often and for how
long you would like to meet to work through the activities. For example, you may want to meet
once a week for two hours for about 12 weeks. This is up to you to decide.
The facilitator is not a ‘teacher’ in the formal sense of the word. She or he is there to guide the
learning experience – the teaching and learning that happens should be shared. Everyone learns
from the other.
Below is an example of non-formal education:
In India, Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) leaders
educate women in their community areas. Equipped with
special bags and aprons containing educational posters and
materials, they arrange short sessions in community spaces,
or in the streets where women live and work. For example,
the SEWA health workers educate them about health and
safety matters such as nutrition and reproduction, and about
the union.
(Chris Bonner, 2005, WIEGO-SEWA-Cornell, Exposure Dialogue Programme,
Ahmedabad, India, 2005) Building and maintaining a democratic organisation
of informal workers, Page 41
For me the most interesting
and significant learning occurs
informally and incidentally, in
people’s everyday lives. And
some of the most powerful
learning occurs as people
struggle against oppression,
as they struggle to make sense
of what is happening to them
and to work out ways of doing
something about it.
(Foley, 1999: 1-2)
VERY IMPORTANT NOTE:
You do NOT have to use all the activities in the books. They are suggestions. You can substitute
other similar activities or parts of activities that may be more suited to your context/needs.
TOPIC ONE
The World We Live In
What are these activities about?
The following six activities deal with the world in which we live/the context/the ‘bigger
picture’. The activities deal with understanding what happens in the world and why,
and how what happens affects all of us, even if we are very far removed from where
decisions are made.
ACTIVITY ONE
Whole group discussion using a Freirian code of the problem (poster of a large
hand/mall ‘pushing’ a trader away and a prayer – NOTE: you can substitute the
prayer with a poem or a song or any other similar text).
NOTE
What is a code (Freire’s ‘codification’)?
Words you
may not know
Freire used what he called ‘codifications’ which can be sketches
thematics –
(drawings) or photographs (such as the poster we are using
topics/issues
today). Codifications can also be oral (for example, a struggle
song). These are not simply visual aids – they must ‘represent situations
familiar to the individuals whose thematics are being examined, so that they can easily recognise
the situations (and thus their own relation to them)’
(Freire, 1996: 95).
Learners or participants then ‘decode’ the ‘coded situation’ – this means they critically analyse
the ‘coded situation’. Being ‘critical’ does not mean simply to criticize – it is ‘asking questions…
probing deeper and seeking answers to our questions’
(Freire, 1996: 135).
As a whole group, look at the poster (POSTER ONE) represented on the following page, for a few
minutes.
Then answer the following questions (verbally):
• What do you see in this poster?
• What do you think it is trying to say about what’s going on?
(Hint: look at the various ‘parts’, e.g. the mall (is it big or small and why?), the large hand (why is
it so large? What is it doing and why?), the trader (what is she doing and why?), the bystanders
(what do you think they are thinking?)…).
Topic One: The World We Live In
1
NOTE
AFTER the discussion, look at the following to see if you have
dealt with all issues (you probably had a few more too):
•Traders having to move in order to allow for planned
development
Words you
may not know
millennia – a
thousand years
• Conflict with authorities, developers and formal shop owners
•No right to trading spaces – most spaces that traders occupy have no tenure (the
land issue)
• High ‘feet’ volume/passing trade versus low or no ‘feet’
•‘Whose land is it anyway?’ The right to and fight for the Commons – ‘collective
property, or the common heritage of all peoples and communities, existing for
everyone to share as they have for millennia (including the ‘public square’).
(Alternatives to economic globalization, Page 81)
NOTE
2
T he International Labour Organization (ILO) estimates that, in 2009, one in five
workers worldwide – 630 million or so workers – lived, along with their families, at
or below the US $1.25 a day poverty level: 40 million more than before the global
economic crisis began in 2008. The vast majority of these working poor earn their
living in the informal economy where earnings are typically low and risks usually
high. ILO 2011 Report (http://wiego.org/wiego/about-wiego)
ACTIVITY TWO
Whole group discussion
Why do you think so many people, all over the world, including an increasing
number of youth, ‘earn their living in the informal economy’?
Do you think it is about:
•Choice/entrepreneurship
• Livelihood for working poor
• No choice/survival (high unemployment, retrenchments)
• Avoidance of regulation and taxation
• All or some of the above?
As you answer the above questions, think about why you earn your living in the informal economy
(whole group activity).
ACTIVITY THREE
Prayer (or any other appropriate text, such as a poem or song, etc) and
discussion (in groups of four or five)
ead the prayer (or other text) and answer the questions that follow (one person
R
per group can scribe):
Prayer
Gracious, loving God,
We live in a world that aches for a new beginning.
We watch as the gap between rich and poor
Both within and between countries
grows ever wider.
We watch as ‘progress’ fails to release
those trapped in poverty.
We watch as the ecological foundations of life
as we know it, are placed in peril.
In this time we seek your face,
a face of compassion and hope,
the promise of Sabbath and Liberation
– a new vision, a new beginning.
Inspire us with your Jubilee Spirit
to new possibilities and new realities.
Bless us with energy
to maintain the struggle for justice for all people.
Hearten us when the task wearies us,
and nourish us with a foretaste of your new creation.
Amen
(Who runs the world? Page 19)
Words you may not
know
aches – longs for/
really wants
ecological – to
do with living
organisms (animals,
plants) in relation to
their surroundings
peril – uncertainty/
risk/danger
compassion –
kindness/concern/
understanding
jubilee – memory or
special anniversary/
about a special
moment/also about
hope
wearies – makes
one tired
foretaste – a ‘taste’
of what is still to
come/to see a bit of
what is still to come
3
The prayer mentions the ‘growing gap between rich and poor’ within countries and between
countries. Why do you think there is this growing gap? Below are different views (NOTE: you do
NOT have to agree with any of them):
• Some people are uneducated
• Some people are lazy
• Colonialism still exists in the form of economic globalisation
• Big business and banks rule the world
• Capitalism is in crisis
•Capitalism is the crisis (the world vs. the 1%)
• All of the above points
• Some of the above points
• Other reasons….
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Look at the poster again:
•The prayer mentions ‘progress’. In the poster, what is ‘progress’ (hint: business people would
certainly define it as ‘progress’)?
• Why, do you think, ‘‘progress’ has failed to release those trapped in poverty’?
• How does the poster portray this?
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Feedback in plenary.
4
ACTIVITY FOUR
Whole group discussion
Drawing on the activity just done, what do you understand by the term
‘capitalism’?
• Have you heard about and what do you know about the Arab Spring, looting in London, riots
in Greece, wars across the Middle East and beyond, the Global Financial Crisis (GFC), and the
Occupy Movement?
• Do you think these are connected to each other?
• Do you think these are connected to you?
• Have you heard the term ‘global village’? What is it?
NOTE
Whether we like it or not, what happens in one part of the world affects all of us,
no matter how physically far away we are from it.
Are you a victim of the capitalist system OR are you a supporter of it (in other words: are you
aspiring to be a ‘big business’ person and to make profits) OR are you both a supporter and a
victim?
Answer the following question to help you answer the one above (answer individually in the box
below). Put a CROSS () next to what you agree with:
Small-scale traders should:
Have a sense of competitiveness amongst each
other (it is a free market economy!)
Treat each other with care and concern
Barter (exchange) goods with each other,
for example a dozen eggs for a woollen hat
Make as much money as they can
Not bother about other small-scale traders
Put profits before people
Conduct themselves like business people
operating in the formal economy
Brief report-back session in plenary.
5
After the discussion, read the following in small groups and comment on it/ask
questions about it (translation should be used if necessary):
Capitalism is an economic system that is based on private ownership
of the means of production and the creation of goods or services
for profit. Other elements central to capitalism include competitive
markets, wage labour and capital (money) accumulation.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitalism)
While more than 10 million people die annually as a result of
capitalism’s structural genocide, hundreds of millions suffer non-fatal
forms of structural violence such as trying to survive on a non-living
wage or no wage at all, a lack of housing, hunger, sickness and many
other social injustices… At the core of this structural genocide is an
inequality in power and wealth that ensures the interests of capital
are prioritized over those of the majority of human beings and of nature.
Words you may not
know
structural – the way
something is put
together/the way
it is organised or
arranged
genocide –
completely
destroyed
(Richard White, 21 August 2012 (Philosophers for Change, philosophers.posterous.com))
The free market may not be ‘free’ for you (NOTE: This is written about North America):
The power of the free market also affects you. Modern corporations operate in a global market.
They calculate the price of hiring a software engineer in India instead of Indiana and move
operations to New Delhi. They calculate the cost of a factory worker in Mexico City instead of
Milwaukee and move production to Mexico. If the job can be done cheaper elsewhere, it goes
there. With high-speed internet technology, satellite communication, and air travel, corporations
can move where they find the cheapest labor, the best tax deal, and the least restrictive
environmental regulations. No matter where you live in America, the global market affects you
and your family.
The free market has marvellous power to produce efficiency and develop new products and
processes. It has brought us wonderful products at prices we can afford. Just walk around any
supermarket or electronics store and see for yourself.
The market also brings less attractive results. It allows tremendous inequalities of wealth,
opportunity, and freedom. Some children are born into great wealth and opportunity. Many
are not. The efficiencies of the market fail to factor in many of the market’s effects on families
and communities. The market also produces what economists call ‘externalities’ – such as
pollution and inequality. Such externalities may land on your head – in jobs lost, schools that
are overcrowded, polluted air and water, and other problems that affect your family and
neighbourhood. For you, these effects are anything but ‘external’.
(Building powerful community organizations, Page 350)
If you think the economy is working, ask someone who isn’t.
(Bumper sticker)
6
The Arab Spring, looting in London, riots in Greece, wars across
the Middle East and beyond, the Global Financial Crisis (GFC), and
the Occupy Movement are all part of the global capitalist politicaleconomic system operating in the world.
(Richard White, 21 August 2012 (Philosophers for Change, philosophers.posterous.com))
When all the trees have been cut down,
when all the animals have been hunted,
when all the waters are polluted,
when all the air is unsafe to breathe,
only then will you discover you cannot eat money.
(Cree Prophecy)
Words you may not
know
burden – the main
responsibility
(usually something
worrying/heavy)
mortality – death
predominantly –
mainly
fend for – look after
meagre – very
small/very little
It is women who carry the greatest burden of the reality that has
earned South Africa the world’s number one spot for inequality
between rich and poor. South Africa’s high and increasing levels of infant
and maternal mortality are worse than those in many
poorer countries. Women make up half the labour
force but still only earn two thirds the salary of
men, as they predominantly work in low wage
sectors such as domestic work. Women in domestic
employment have been among the hardest
hit in the ‘blood bath’ of job losses
totalling over 1.3 million as a result
of the ‘Great Recession’. They are
also more likely to head the poorest
households. In 2003, 75 percent of
black African women under 30 were
unemployed – a figure most likely
worse now after the recession.
Moreover, unemployment,
at an unparalleled 53% of the
working age population, increases
pressure on women whose main
responsibility it becomes to
fend for an increasing number
of extended family members
dependent on one wage
earner or the meagre income
of a pensioner.
(Women and the struggle for
socialism. It doesn’t have to be
like this! By Sheri Hamilton, Izwi
Labasebenzi, May-July 2011)
7
ACTIVITY FIVE
Whole group discussion:
Is there an alternative? Is another, better world possible?
Have you heard of any of the following terms:
People first economics is economics where the emphasis is on people before profits.
Social economy refers to a third sector in economies – it lies between the private sector
(business) and the public sector (government). It includes organisations such as co-operatives
(see further below).
Solidarity economy relates to a system of shared (or co-owner) ownership of goods and
resources for producing and reproducing life, whose prime basis is work and not capital, whose
managers share equally the power to decide what directions the initiative is to take, the goods
and services to be produced or purchased, the techniques to be employed, the education and
communication to be promoted, and how any surplus is shared
(Arruda, 2008, p.98).
Economic activity is not for private profit maximization and competition. Instead, the economic
principles of the solidarity economy are:
• Co-ownership – the equipment, goods and the income earned from sales are owned by a
collective and not an individual.
• Self-management – all decisions regarding the planning and finances of an economic activity
are independently taken.
• Cooperation – a group of individuals contribute towards the success of an economic activity.
• Participatory democracy – everyone directly participates in the discussions and decisions on an
economic activity.
Collectively, these principles democratize economic relations
between those who produce and those who consume, by
implication, they challenge dominant economic power relations.
Moreover, they foster conscious participation that grows out
of popular education about the social injustices of the capitalist
economy and the importance of collectivism and solidarity as the
seeds of a more humanist alternative economy. In addition, it
confronts the patriachical bias towards men inherent in the sexual
division of labour, fuelling discrimination against women.
Words you may not
know
inherent – inbuilt/
ingrained/existing in
fuelling –
provoking/inciting/
encouraging
It is important, though, not to overstate the potential of the solidarity economy as an alternative
to the capitalist market economy, as it still operates within a capitalist framework. Marcos Arruda,
for example, proposes that the chief goal of the solidarity economy is to create a new economy
within the belly of the capitalist system. It is therefore more sensible to see it as both ‘an
alternative and complementary way’ (Wilpert, 2007, p.76) to the capitalist market economy.
(Ibrahim Steyn/ESSET, Solidarity economy experiment in Brazil and Venezuela and the lessons for a Southern African debate
on solidarity finance for informal trade, Pages 6-7)
8
A co-operative (co-op) is a group/association of people who voluntarily co-operate (do something
together) for their mutual social, economic, and/or cultural benefit.
Here are three examples of co-operatives:
We as women traders have come together and formed a co-operative. We identified open
land and approached Chieftainess Malimbeketa to allocate a portion of it to us. According to
our culture it’s wrong as married women to approach our Chieftainess and ask for land. It was
because of poverty that we defied cultural stereotypes and asked for land. The Chieftainess was
surprised at our request but when she realized that we were serious about our business she
gave us 89 hectares of fertile land. She is very supportive of women empowerment, especially
if its women leading from the front in their projects. We are already chopping off trees and
selling charcoal from the wood. In future we plan to plant soya beans and ground nuts which
we will sell to the market.
(Ms Ayusi from Rise and Shine Co-operative (Zambia))
Report of the Zambian exchange visit by members of the SADC Informal Traders Network
16-21 September 2012
The People’s Supermarket: where even the
smell of baking bread is genuine
Words you may not
know
In a high street rigged against independent shopkeepers, this cooperative food shop has won a battle for survival
satsumas – a type
of fruit
Zoe Williams, The Guardian, 2 March 2012
I
f you’ve never been to the People’s
Supermarket, I think you’d be surprised
at how normal all the stuff is. There
are sections of top-end delicatessen-ery, the
rococo biscuits for the same price as a pair of
trousers in Primark; there’s Haribo bears, for
the universal price of not very much. There is
no manic “buy this, get that free” promotional
activity – they use the food that won’t last
much longer in their own kitchen, which is, as
the head cook, Paul Batho, soberly puts it, “a
real profit centre in the business”.
It’s just one large-ish shop on Lamb’s
Conduit Street in Bloomsbury, London: there
are no economies of scale, and no classic
supermarket deal slicing, where you bargain
with suppliers until you see the bones under
their flesh, and the upshot is that you get a
load of satsumas for free that nobody wants.
genuine – real
idiosyncratic –
different (the
shopfront looks
different to other
shopfronts)
The shopfront is
quite idiosyncratic,
simulated – not real
the people working
there are very
open, and it smells
as if there is a working kitchen producing
food on the premises, rather than a packet
of s imulated baking-bread-smell granules,
going round and round the simulated baking
bread granule machine. You’d like it, in other
words, but you wouldn’t think this was the
start of a consumer revolution.
And nor, necessarily, is it, but it is something different. It’s run as a co-operative;
members pay £25 annually, and volunteer
for four hours a month. For that, they get a
20% discount; all NHS workers get 10% off
anyway (it’s round the corner from Great
Ormond Street hospital). Jo, who runs the
9
accounts, says they do OK but it’s very handto-mouth: “It’s not quite robbing Peter to pay
Paul, but with suppliers, whoever shouts the
loudest gets paid first.”
“We’re just trying to take a standard
business model and make it a good business,”
Bull concludes. “That’s one of the things that
winds people up. Brand extension is another.”
They want more shops (another 14 sites are
in discussion, across the country). They want
more income streams. They’ve started doing
office catering for local businesses, such as
the Economist. They nominated Michael
Mulcahy, who’s American, for catering
Words you may not
anager in the meetm
know
ing I was at. “I’m
anarchy – political
just an immigrant,”
disorder; opposing
he said, when I asked
authority/
him how he got
government
involved. “I volunteered because, apart
from my partner, I didn’t know anybody.”
This is not anarchy, in other words; it
doesn’t look at all like Occupy.
It’s not all counter-culture and brown
bananas. I don’t know what you’d call
it – capitalism in flux? – but the bananas are
fresh.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/2012/mar/02/london-peoples-supermarket-cooperatives
Masande Women’s Co-op recycles paper into livelihoods
12-09-2011
Vuk’uzenzele – ‘wake-up and do it for yourself’, rings true when one considers the work of
Masande Women’s Co-operative in the St Francis Ward of the Kouga Local Municipality.
Launched in November 2009, the women’s co-operative has created employment through
paper mache arts and crafts that generates an income for ten previously unemployed women
(five youth and five adults), explained St Francis Bay Community Development Worker (CDW),
Khouseka Paula Sibeno.
“In my area the rate of unemployment is high, so I sought to reduce poverty in my community
and also to empower women,” she said.
Paper mache is about artfully and creatively using old paper that would have otherwise ended
up at the rubbish heap. It’s also a clever way of recycling materials that would have polluted
the environment.
The project has received support from the Department of Social Development. She described,
the project’s crowning moment; “In June we took their products to Grahamstown for the
National Arts Festival at the invitation of the Department of Social Development. It was an
honour for the group to be able to participate in such a festival.”
Masande Women’s Co-operative is just one of many success stories across the district.
http://www.getnews.co.za/story?id=467
10 Kwanele! – Enough is enough! Now for something else!’ Participant Workbook
Sustainable livelihoods is about people creating a livelihood for themselves and their households.
It is about using resources and assets that they have access to, such as natural resources,
technologies, their skills, knowledge and capacity, their health, education, sources of credit, and/
or their networks of social support. This is similar to community self-help.
Community-based economics or community economics is an economic system that encourages
people to buy locally (see ‘ethical consumerism’ below).
Ethical consumerism is a type of consumer activism practised through ‘positive buying’. Products
such as fair trade products or locally-made or grown products are favoured.
ACTIVITY SIX
Watch the DvD ‘The Economics of Happiness’ (67 minutes). It uses some of the
terms and concepts listed in Activity Five. After watching it, there will be a
discussion.
Read this quote before you start the discussion:
We can begin by doing small things at the local level, like planting community gardens or looking out
for our neighbors. That is how change takes place in living systems, not from above but from within,
from many local actions occurring simultaneously.
Grace Lee Boggs (author and feminist)
NOTES
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11
Please reflect on your learning by completing the EVALUATION questions below:
In what ways, if any, do you think you will be able to use what you have learnt in the sessions
dealing with ‘The World We Live In’ in your everyday life?
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What did you like about the sessions?
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What can be improved?
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Any other comments?
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Thank-you for participating!
TOPIC TWO
Policies and Rights
If you don’t stand for something, you will fall for something.
Tomorrow belongs to the people who prepare for it today.
African Proverbs
Topic Two: Policies and Rights
13
What are these activities about?
The following four activities deal, firstly, with policies (on paper and in practice) and
then with rights (on paper and in practice). Sometimes what is written and is law is not
practised ‘on the ground’. It is very important for everyone to know about policies that
affect them and about one’s rights.
NOTE
VERY IMPORTANT NOTE
T ASK: BEFORE this session, the facilitator will ask you to do some research on
legislation and policies in your country, so that you come to this session with the
necessary information, and are able to do the following activity (Activity One).
ACTIVITY ONE: Policies and Practice
Brief discussion (whole group)
What is policy and why is it important to have such principles and guidelines?
Questions
What are the various pieces of legislation and policies to do with informal trading in your country?
You need to share with the group what you found out about the various pieces of legislation and
policies (see ‘very important note’/task above).
The following are some relevant legislation and policies for the informal economy in Lesotho:
The Constitution:
The Bill of Rights
• Opportunity to work
• Right to participate in government
Policies, laws and regulations to do with small business:
•Ministry Of Trade And Industry, Cooperatives And Marketing White Paper On The
Development And Promotion Of Small Business
• MTICM Policy And Regulations
• Trading Enterprises Act
• Pioneering Industries Act
• Cooperatives Act
• SME White Paper
• Draft Trading Enterprises Act
The following are some relevant legislation and policies for the informal economy in South Africa:
• The Constitution
• The Business Act of 1991
•The White Paper on National Strategy for the Development and Promotion of Small
Business in South Africa of 1995
•The Green Paper on a Skills Development Strategy for Economic and Employment Growth in
South Africa of 1997
• The Municipal Systems Act of 2000
• The eThekwini Informal Economy Policy of 2001
• The KZN Green Paper on the Informal Economy of 2003
• The Growth and Development Summit Agreement of 2003
• The City of Johannesburg’s Informal Trading Policy of 2006
• The City of Johannesburg’s Metropolitan Municipality Informal Trading By-laws of 2012
The following are some relevant legislation and policies for the informal economy in Swaziland:
• The Immigration Act, 1982
• The Urban Government Act, 1969
•NAMBoard Act of Parliament, 1985
NAMBoard is the National Agricultural Marketing Board of the Kingdom
of Swaziland. Its purpose is to stimulate local production by providing
technical service and the marketing of agricultural produce in the country,
and particularly to support the small farmer
•The Swaziland Revenue Authority (SRA) is a semi-autonomous revenue
administration agency, established through the Revenue Authority Act
No. 1 of 2008
Words you
may not know
semiautonomous
– partly, not
completely
independent
revenue – to
do with money
The following are some relevant legislation and policies for the informal economy in Zambia:
• Hawkers permits such as:
– Application for a licence to act as a hawker
– Application for footpath restaurants and street trading
• Cross Border Permit
•The PACRA Act of 2010 established the Patents and Companies Registration Agency (PACRA)
•The Zambia Development Agency Bill of 2006 established the Zambia Development Agency
(for registered traders)
• Women Empowerment Fund and Youth Empowerment Fund
• The Markets Act of 1995
15
The following are some relevant legislation and policies for the informal economy in Zimbabwe:
• The Constitution (old and new)
•The COMESA Simplified Trade Regime
(COMESA is working with Member States to come up with a simplified Customs Clearance
procedure that would be used by small scale cross-border traders to facilitate easy import
and export of their goods)
Are you familiar with some or all of these pieces of legislation and policies in your country?
What do these various pieces of legislation and policies mean for you as a small-scale trader?
• What is your experience of these on the ground?
• Do you think the legislation/policies address/accommodate the needs of female small-scale
traders? Why do you say so?
•What part have you played in policy planning/making (if any)?
In other words, are you participating? Describe your participation.
In what way/s and/or other ways would you like to participate?
Suggest what should be in place to ensure that women participate (if they are not).
Record the responses on flipchart paper or paper (ask someone to scribe). Do not mention
specific names, just (a) experiences and (b) ways in which participants would like to participate
(i.e. suggestions).
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ACTIVITY TWO
In small groups, read the following and answer the questions that follow. Then
have a report-back in plenary.
(A) (NOTE: This text should be translated into an African language/s if necessary)
Women and the struggle for socialism. It doesn’t have to be
like this!
Words you may not
know
impressive array – a
Thus, despite an impressive array of legislation concerning women’s
very good collection
of/a lot of
rights in South Africa, they still disproportionately battle poverty
and economic hardship and are, especially in the home, subjected
disproportionately –
not equal/not
to amongst the highest levels of physical and emotional abuse and
balanced/not the
violence in the world. An estimated 50 000 women are raped every
same as
year in SA – that is one every ten minutes. A girl-child born in SA is
non-consensual –
more likely to be raped in her lifetime than make her way through
the girls did not
school. In a study of the attitudes among women and men the Centre
agree to have sex/
for the Study of Violence found that most black women believe a man
they were forced
has the right to have sex with his wife or partner whenever he wants.
In a study among black teenagers, it was found that the majority
believed that it is fine for a man to force himself on a woman if he knows her or if she accepted
a drink from him. In a World Health (WHO) study 40% of the girls interviewed said that their first
experience of sex was non-consensual.
Women and the struggle for socialism. It doesn’t have to be like this! By Sheri Hamilton, Izwi Labasebenzi,
May-July 2011
(B) Look at the picture of the female cross-border trader on the following page and then answer
the questions below.
What do you see in this picture of a female cross-border trader?
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Thinking about the article above and the picture of the female cross-border trader, in what way/s
(if any) does having ‘an impressive array of legislation concerning women’s rights’ and having
women in positions of power help poor women in their day-to-day struggles, particularly female
small-scale traders?
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(C)
For us street traders, being a stakeholder is a slavery term. This is because government and big
business think for us, plan for us and all we are left with is to fit in their plan and do as we told,
even if we feel hurt and oppressed by their plans. (Mama Rose, a street trader)
Politics at stake: a note on stakeholder analysis by Mark Butler and David Ntseng, July 2008. www.abahlali.org.za
Why does Mama Rose think being a ‘stakeholder’ is a ‘slavery term’?
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ACTIVITY THREE
Recommendations for Regional Trade in SADC
Look at the poster (POSTER TWO) of the traders wanting a ‘free trade area’ in the
SADC region.
In small groups, make a list of recommendations that state what it is the traders in the poster (and
you) want to happen with regards to a regional trading policy in SADC.
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ACTIVITY FOUR
Rights
In small groups, read the following case studies and answer the questions below.
Then have a report-back in plenary.
NOTE
T here are different rights in different countries, for example, in Zambia, one is
allowed to trade in front of a shop (see CASE STUDY B) and in Zimbabwe, one is
not allowed to trade in the city centre (but rather in specific places of trading) (see
CASE STUDY C). So, not all of the case studies below may be applicable to your
situation.
CASE STUDY A
onhlanhla is a 20 year old woman. She works for Maria selling sweets and
N
cigarettes. Maria has told Nonhlanhla that if a man wants to touch her, she
must not refuse. If she refuses, the customers won’t buy and Maria will lose her
business (and Nonhlanhla will be unemployed).
What advice would you give to Nonhlanhla?
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CASE STUDY B
Pretty has sold cosmetics outside an empty shop for two years. A cosmetic
company starts renting the empty shop and Pretty is given two options by the
authorities: sell something else or move.
What advice would you give to Pretty?
Do you think the above case study indicates that ‘big business’ is favoured over informal trading
and if so, should it be that way? Why do you say so?
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CASE STUDY C
In the Johannesburg CBD, a police officer tells Nkele to move because, according
to the officer, she is ‘obstructing a loading bay’. Nkele is a few metres from the
bay and says to the officer she is not obstructing it. Nkele knows the law well. The
officer then says that he will ‘allow’ her to stay if she pays him R50.
What advice would you give to Nkele?
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CASE STUDY D
Valentia decides to start trading on a busy street in the city centre – she buys fruit
and sweets; finds a corner; sets up and starts trading. She does not have a permit.
What advice would you give to Valentia?
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CASE STUDY E
During the Soccer World Cup. Busi’s t-shirts are confiscated – she is told they are
fakes. She now has nothing to sell.
What advice would you give to Busi?
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CASE STUDY F
Queenie goes to collect her impounded goods. She is told to ‘just take those
things’. She says that they are not hers. The official shrugs his shoulders.
What advice would you give to Queenie?
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In the above case studies, some of the traders do not know the law and some do know the law
but it is not being followed by those in positions of power.
Now group the case studies into:
1) The trader doesn’t know the law.
2) The trader knows the law – the law is being abused by those in power.
DOES NOT KNOW THE LAW
KNOWS THE LAW
Do you think women and men small-scale traders experience the kinds of things in the case
studies the same or differently? If differently, explain further. Why do you think this is so?
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Using the advice you gave to the traders in the case studies, what can you do if you follow the
rules and regulations and are well-informed about your rights, but those in positions of power
abuse those rights?
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Make a list of organisations which deal with issues like this.
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In South Africa, there is constitutional democracy and the Constitution lists the rights to which
the people of the country are entitled/have a right to. Chapter 9 of the Constitution states that
a number of ‘state institutions supporting constitutional democracy’ be provided for, and so,
independent institutions have been set up to promote these rights and to make constitutional
democracy stronger.
The following is for South African traders:
Do you know all or some of the organisations (see below), and if so, have you ever approached
any of the organisations?
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Would you approach any (and for what reason/s)?
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The following is for all other traders:
Does something similar exist in your country? If so, list the organisations:
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State institutions which support constitutional democracy (in South Africa)
• Public Protector
• South African Human Rights Commission
• Commission for the Promotion and Protection of Rights of Cultural, Religious and
Linguistic Communities
• Commission for Gender Equality
•Auditor-General
• Independent Electoral Commission
• Independent Authority to Regulate Broadcasting
NOTES
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dealing with ‘Policies and Rights’ in your everyday life?
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Any other comments?
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TOPIC THREE
Organisations
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can
change the world: indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.
Margaret Mead (anthropologist)
Topic Three: Organisations
27
What is this activity about?
The following activity deals with organisations and how they are run. This activity
requires you to reflect on your own organisation and to suggest ways to make it work
even better.
ACTIVITY ONE
Thinking about your organisation and how it works – questions and
answers.
Briefly describe your organisation (verbally). Think about:
•
•
•
•
How it was started;
What it does;
Why it does what it does;
Its identity.
Then read through the tables below and answer the questions.
NOTE
If there is more than one person from the same organisation, you can answer
the following questions together. Otherwise you need to work on your own as
the questions refer to particular organisation/s (translation should be used if
necessary).
The following is adapted from Brown, M.J. ‘Building powerful community organizations’ (2006),
Pages 95-98, 99-101, 104-107, 115-116, 120-121.
In the left column write down what your organisation actually does. In the right column write
down if you think this is what your organisation should be doing and the way it should be doing it.
Words you may not know: Definitions
MISSION – who we are, what we do and WHY.
GOALS – broad statements. What would we like the organisation to achieve in X number of years?
OBJECTIVES – specific. Usually measurable statements of what will be done to achieve a goal, within a
shorter time period than the goals.
Mission, Goals and Objectives
What is your mission statement?
Is this what you want your mission statement
to be?
YesNo
If you don’t have a mission statement, what
can you do so your organisation writes one?
What are your goals?
Do they match what you want your goals to
be?
YesNo
If you don’t have written goals, what can you
do so your organisation writes them?
What are your objectives?
Do they match what you want your objectives
to be?
YesNo
If you don’t have written objectives, what can
you do so your organisation writes them?
29
Mission, Goals and Objectives
Does your organisation have a Constitution?
If so, is it ‘living’ (i.e. it is actively followed and
not just written down)?
If you don’t have a Constitution, what can you
do so your organisation writes one?
If you have one, but it is not ‘living’, what can
you do to change this?
Is your organisation transparent?
30 Do you want it to be this way?
Why?
Values (what you believe in); Group Behaviours and Attitudes
What are the values your organisation has?
Do members of your group agree with them?
YesNo
Are these the values you want the organisation
to have?
YesNo
If no, what values would you like it to have?
What are the specific behaviours of members
that demonstrate (show) those values?
What are some specific behaviours that would
demonstrate (show) the values you would like
for your organisation?
31
What are the behaviours that would
demonstrate the opposite of those values?
What are some behaviours that would
demonstrate the opposite of the values you
want to have?
What discipline procedures, if any, does your
organisation have?
Are these the discipline procedures you want?
32 If not, what discipline procedures do you
want?
Are women’s and men’s experiences of
membership (being part of your organisation)
the same?
If they are not the same, how are they
different?
How do you think their experiences should
be?
Is your organisation an enabling environment
for women traders’ participation (i.e. a space
which allows for women traders to participate
freely)?
If it is not, how could it become one?
YesNo
Size
How big is your organisation?
Is this the size you want for your organisation?
YesNo
If not, what size would you like it to be?
Do you have any limits on the size of
membership?
YesNo
Would you like to set a limit?
YesNo
Why?
33
Staffing
How many women and how many men are in
your organisation?
Are you happy with this ratio of men to
women?
Would you change it?
Are the staff paid?
YesNo
Or is it volunteer?
YesNoSome
Do your staff have titles (e.g. chairperson,
treasurer, etc)?
34 Would you like to have paid staff (if they are
not paid)?
Do you want/need more staff?
Or less staff?
Do these titles fit your organisation?
Staffing
What do the staff member/s do?
Are these the primary roles and functions that
you want the staff to be doing?
Who supervises your staff? How? What is the
actual supervision process?
Is this the supervision process and
responsibility chain that you want for your
organisation?
YesNo
Why?
Timeframe
How long do you think your organisation will
be in existence?
How long do you want it to be in existence?
Collaborations
Do you have agreements or relationships with
any other organisations/groups?
Do you want to have relationships with any
other organisations/groups?
YesNo
How would having (or not having)
collaborations help you to achieve your goals?
35
Leadership
Who calls the meetings?
Is this how you want your meetings to be
called?
YesNo
Who is the chair?
Is this the person who you want to chair the
meetings?
YesNo
Do you have any committees?
If so, what are they?
Are these the committees you want?
YesNo
What committees would you add?
What committees would you remove?
Do you have officers or other specified
leaders?
Are these the leadership positions you want?
YesNo
YesNo
If so, what are the leadership position titles?
(list them)
Leadership
How do you choose officers or board
members?
Is this how you want to choose officers or
board members?
YesNo
What are the lengths of service of your officers
and leaders?
If you don’t have term limits, do you want
them?
YesNo
If so, what are the term limits?
If you have term limits, are these the terms
you want?
YesNo
Who decides things in your organisation?
(Who makes proposals? Who follows up?)
Is this who you would like to have making the
decisions?
YesNo
Are women’s and men’s experiences of
leadership in your organisation the same?
different?
be?
37
Meetings: Turf (place) and Time
How often does your organisation meet?
Do you want it to meet as it does?
YesNo
If not, when would you like your organisation
to meet?
Does your organisation meet at a time that is
convenient for members?
Is this what you want?
YesNo
YesNo
For some members, but not others?
YesNo
Where does your organisation meet?
Is this where you want your organisation to
meet?
YesNo
Would different locations make meetings more
accessible (easier) for some members?
YesNo
If so, where?
How long are the meetings?
Is this the right length?
YesNo
Do your meetings start on time?
Do you want meetings to start on time?
YesNo
YesNo
If not, how late or early do they start?
What can you do to achieve this?
Meetings: Turf (place) and Time
Do they end on time?
YesNo
YesNo
If not, how late or early?
Meeting Procedures
How are your meetings run?
Is this how you want your meetings to be run?
YesNo
Do you have groundrules for meetings?
Are these the groundrules you want?
YesNo
YesNo
If yes, are they explicit (made known) or just
assumed (you think everyone knows what they
are)?
39
Meeting Procedures
Who is allowed to vote/make decisions?
Is this in writing?
Is this who you want to have decision-making
authority?
YesNo
YesNo
If this is not in writing, how can you get the
group to put it in writing?
Do you vote and use majority rule?
Is this the way you want to make decisions?
YesNo
YesNo
Or do you make decisions by consensus?
(the group deliberates and discusses until
everyone agrees, or at least is willing to go
along for the sake of the group).
YesNo
Or do you use some other method? If so, what
is it?
What is considered a quorum for your group
(the minimum number of members who must
be present at a meeting)?
Is this working for your group?
Can members vote by proxy (a person can
represent someone else who is not there)?
Is it the way you want it to be?
YesNo
YesNo
Meeting Procedures
Do you have a Code of Conduct?
If not, do you want one?
YesNo
YesNo
Do you think your organisation is democratic?
If not, would you like it to be?
YesNo
YesNo
If yes, can you/the group change it?
YesNo
How?
Becoming a Member
How does someone join?
Does this process work for your organisation?
YesNo
What are the membership criteria (for
example, do you have to work in a particular
area)?
Are these the membership criteria you want?
Can anyone join?
YesNo
YesNo
YesNo
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Becoming a Member
Are women’s and men’s experiences of joining
your organisation the same?
different?
be?
Is there a subscription fee?
Is this the fee you want?
YesNo
YesNo
If so, how much is it?
Who decides how much it should be?
How do you think having a subscription fee
affects the organisation and its work? (e.g.
might the fees affect how involved your
members are, the size of your membership, or
how independent your organisation is?)
42 Is this what you want?
YesNo
Participants can refer to Book 2, ‘Building and maintaining a democratic organisation of informal
workers’ and Book 3, ‘Handling the day-to-day problems of informal workers’. Available for free as
part of the ‘Organising in the informal economy: Resource books for organisers’ on the following
website: www.inclusivecities.org.
Go to ‘Organising’, then ‘Building Organisations’ – Organising in the informal economy: Resource
books for organisers.
OR contact StreetNet International
1008 Salmon Grove Chambers
407 Anton Lembede Street
Durban
031 307 4038
[email protected]
Book 2 deals with:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Democratic, member based workers’ organisations
Internal challenges
Worker leaders in the informal economy (qualities, women leaders, collective leadership)
The Constitution (organisation’s)
Policies, procedures and values
Choosing leaders – the election process
Participation and decision-making by members
Holding successful meetings
Financial accountability and political accountability
Worker education and empowerment.
Book 3 deals with:
•
•
•
•
Guidelines for handling problems
Steps in dealing with worker problems
Taking up the problem
Dealing with conflict amongst members.
NOTES
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dealing with ‘Organisations’ in your everyday life?
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TOPIC FOUR
Take Action!
Anger is a powerful energy.
We don’t need to suppress or get over our anger, we need to channel
it into making change for the greater good. We need to make sure that
we don’t turn our anger in on ourselves or our loved ones, but focus it
on removing obstacles, and making things happen.
Ed Roberts (co-founder of the Center for Independent Living)
Topic Four: Take Action!
45
ACTIVITY ONE
What is this activity about?
The following activity is about ‘taking action’ and evaluating and reflecting on that action
(which you will do when you meet sometime in the future). It is important to not only
talk about issues, but ‘to act’, particularly to bring about change for the better.
Paulo Freire, the famous Brazilian educator, wrote about ‘praxis’ – the coming together of what
you do (practice) and what you think about what you do (theory). This is action and reflection! It is
very important to learn from one’s actions and, of course, to keep acting!
Start with the issues/problems!
Brainstorm with the whole group. Think about (and ‘shout out’) issues that affect you and other
traders working in the informal economy in the SADC region. You can capture the issues on a
piece of flipchart paper.
NOTE
46 AFTER the discussion, look at the following (you probably have a few more too):
• Lack of recognition/no ‘voice’/exclusion
• The right to vend
• Lack of access to land
• Space to vend
• Facilities – lack of storage, shelter, toilets, water
• Protection against harassment from authorities
• Being labelled
• Safety and security
• Competition, especially from formal businesses
• Not having access to credit
• Lack of transparency
• Lack of access to information
• Lack of commitment and flow of information from government
• Lack of participation and consultation (with government)
•Bureaucracy
• Lack of access to legal resources (financial reasons)
• Lack of unity
• Administration challenges – limited human and financial resources
• Lack of communication from the sector
• ‘Divide and rule’
• Lack of trader-friendly policies
• Lack of national and regional policies for the informal sector
• Lack of partnerships.
Because most groups of informal workers do not have negotiating rights or access to formal
dispute resolution mechanisms, collective action is often the only way they can make their
voices and demands heard.
Taking action can be risky for informal workers. Unlike workers in the formal economy, whose
strikes often carry some protection under labour law, informal workers do not usually have
this protection. When they act, they are vulnerable to further harassment and intimidation
by police, authorities and/or employers. On the other hand, those in authority may ignore
their action. Unlike formal workers, the bargaining power of many groups of informal workers,
or their power to directly ‘hurt’ an opponent, is not very strong. Many groups of informal
workers cannot use the strike weapon. They have to find alternative forms of action that will be
appropriate to their situation, but are still effective.
“Big struggle big gain; small struggle small gain. No struggle no gain.”
(Chinese worker saying thanks to CAW)
Collective action for informal workers, Page 2
Informal workers are increasingly recognizing the need to unite into larger organizations to
increase their visibility, voice and power. Organizing gives the poorest segments of the working
class – those working in the informal economy, and especially women – a means to be heard
by decision makers who have the power to affect their lives.
http://wiego.org/informal-economy/organizing-organizations
In groups of four or five, choose ONE issue that was raised today, and spend some time discussing
how you will address this issue through some sort of action. This will take many hours and you will
probably have to meet a few times.
You need to refer to Book 6: ‘Collective action for informal workers’, from ‘Organising in the
informal economy: Resource books for organisers’ on the website: www.inclusivecities.org
Book 6 deals with:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Collective action – opportunities and challenges
Collective action and the organiser
Forms of collective action
Women and collective action
Preparing for collective action
Taking action (carrying out the action and evaluating the action).
But first look at these examples of action:
(A)
Saul Alinsky was an American community organiser and he sometimes organised
a ‘shit-in’ in an airport. It worked like this: the community organisation kept all the
toilets occupied until a crisis was reached in the building!
47
What do you think of this action (A) and its effectiveness?
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(B)
Women pinafore-sellers and informal traders protest against eThekwini
Municipality for fair trading rights
8 August 2012
Commemorating Women`s Day, a march was held this Tuesday, against
the City Council. This was done to speak out against the exorbitant
prices charged by private business owners and to protest the rights of
the informal traders. There is a call for the municipality to provide street
vendors a decent place to trade as they also have trade permits.
Words you may
not know
commemorating –
remembering/
honouring
exorbitant – very
The march had started from Botha`s Garden and then proceeded to the
high
City Hall, where a memorandum was given to the office of the Mayor.
The march mostly consisted of the women pinafore-traders, supported
by Ubambano Traders Alliance (Ubumbano) and StreetNet (to which
Ubumbano is affiliated), a worker organisation that broadens, networks and represents their
members through national and international structures.
Ubambano has been formed in order to coordinate the representation of informal traders and
provide a channel through which different traders` organisations and representative structures
may collectively represent the interests of informal traders in Durban.
Mazwandile Mvula, Secretary for Ubumbano and Convenor for this event, commented that
the rent charged for the street vendors to sell in the flea market is too high. “If you look at the
women pinafore-sellers on the south side, I have been told they are charged between R1 000 –
R1 200 a month. It sometimes can be more, depends on what they negotiate with the private
business owners. Some would have to pay for the electricity as a separate expense and they also
work in small rooms where buildings are old and not maintained. They are allowed to sell their
goods on Sundays only. This means they are not taking much money home. Many of the women
are single mothers who are the main breadwinners,” he said.
Mvula commented that this issue with the municipality has been ongoing since 2008. “There
are also select places in the CBD that are unoccupied and can be used. We are having this march
in hopes to bring awareness to this issue as government needs to cater for the informal traders
whose livelihoods depend on their trade,” he said.
Other issues that surfaced were the need for the municipality to have proper procedures in
place to help street vendors to purchase their trade permits. Many of them don`t know where to
get them from. According to the protestors the municipality has a Street Committee along each
road, where they assist traders to get their permits.
Margaret Shange has been a street vendor for 10 years and works as a dressmaker. She
complained that the municipality has no regulations in place for the Street Committee as there
are allegations of corruption in some of the places. “It costs R480 to obtain a trade permit that
has to be renewed every six months. The Street Committee who I have to go to charges us R2
000 every time we have to renew it. It is against the law as they pocket the extra money. It is
sadly a common problem. Many of us don`t have that kind of money. When we complain to the
municipality they don`t hear us and send us back to the Street Committee. When we are unable
to produce our trade permits, we are evicted by the police. It is not fair as already we have high
rent expenses to pay. We need a proper place to trade. I am a single mother and I work 7 days a
week just to try put food on the table for my family. I hope that we will be heard this time,” she
said.
“StreetNet, jointly with Ubumbano, has asked the new City Manager for a meeting to discuss
the many problems of street vendor regulation in Durban which the Council under previous
City Manager Mike Sutcliffe failed to address ever since they abandoned the implementation of
the inclusive Informal Trade Policy adopted by the City in 2002. Certainly we will also add the
problems of the pinafore-sellers to the agenda for that meeting,” added Pat Horn, International
Co-ordinator for StreetNet.
(http://www.streetnet.org.za/)
What do you think of this action (B) and its effectiveness?
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If you give me a fish, you have fed me for a day. If you teach me to fish, then you have fed me
until the river is contaminated or the shoreline seized for development. But if you teach me
to ORGANIZE, then whatever the challenge, I can join together with my peers… and we will
fashion OUR OWN SOLUTION!
Ricardo Levins Morales (artist and activist)
We need to look within ourselves to find strength and courage to fight our own battles first,
and then look outside for additional support. – Mr. Mqabi, a street trader activist
Politics at stake: a note on stakeholder analysis by Mark Butler and David Ntseng, July 2008
www.abahlali.org.za
NOTE
Y ou can take as much time as you need for the action to be enacted/to happen
(i.e. it could be months). You will meet again when you would like to reflect on
the action. It doesn’t have to be after the action takes place – it could also be at
some point during the action. Reflection can happen at any time and it can happen
more than once. Scholars write about reflection-in-action and reflection-on-action.
Reflection-in-action is reflecting while the ‘action’ is happening and reflection-onaction is reflecting after the action has happened.
what?
evaluate
reflect
plan
learn
monitor
do/act
Adapted from Clarke. L. 2006. Handbook on monitoring and evaluation for the CINDI Network.
www.cindi.org.za
When reflecting it is important to ask yourself the following questions:
• What is my reaction to the ‘action’?
• What worked and why?
• What did not work and why?
• How has it informed my thinking and my learning?
• Can I relate ‘theory’ that I have learned to this real life situation? If yes, in what ways?
• What can we do better/differently?
Many people use the following questions when reflecting:
What?
So What?
Now What?
What?
Describes what happened and with whom.
So what?
Moves from a description to the meaning of the action (from ‘what’ to ‘why’).
Now what?
Moves to the next step/a way forward – What are you going to do about it? What are the
future goals? What is the new action plan?
(Adapted from: http://www.uvm.edu/~dewey/reflection_manual/activities.html)
Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing.
Arundhati Roy
However long the night may be, there will be a morning.
African proverb
Those who suffer it must lead it.
Abahlali baseMjondolo
NOTES
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dealing with ‘Take Action!’ in your everyday life?
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Any other comments?
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References
Ayusi. (Rise and Shine Co-operative (Zambia)). 16-21 September 2012. Report of the Zambian
exchange visit by members of the SADC Informal Traders Network. Johannesburg: ESSET.
Bonner, C. nd. Building and maintaining a democratic organisation of informal workers.
Organising in the informal economy: Resource books for organisers (Book 2). StreetNet
International and WIEGO.
http://www.inclusivecities.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/ICC2_Building_Org_small.pdf
Bonner, C. nd. Collective action for informal workers. Organising in the informal economy:
Resource books for organisers (Book 6). StreetNet International and WIEGO.
http://www.inclusivecities.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/ICC6_Collective_Action_small.pdf
Brown, M.J. 2006. Building powerful community organizations. A personal guide to creating
groups that can solve problems and change the world. Arlington, Massachusetts: Long Haul
Press.
Butler, M. & Ntseng, D. 2008. Politics at stake: a note on stakeholder analysis.
www.abahlali.org.za
Diakonia Council of Churches. 1999. Who runs the world? Bible studies linking faith and economic
life. Durban: Diakonia Council of Churches.
Foley, G. 1999. Learning in social action: a contribution to understanding informal learning.
London: Zedbooks.
Freire, P. 2003. Education for critical consciousness. New York: Continuum.
Get news. Where business meets. Masande Women’s Co-op recycles paper into livelihoods. 12
September 2011.
http://www.getnews.co.za/story?id=467
Hamilton, S. May-July 2011. Women and the struggle for socialism. It doesn’t have to be like this!
Izwi Labasebenzi.
Mack, T. & Picower, B. (eds). 2011. Planning to change the world. A plan book for social justice
teachers 2011-2012. New York: New York Collective of Radical Educators and the Education for
Liberation Network.
Newman Kuyek, J. 1990. Fighting for hope. Organizing to realize our dreams. Montreal/New York:
Black Rose Books.
Steyn, I. 2011. Solidarity economy experiment in Brazil and Venezuela and the lessons for a
Southern African debate on solidarity finance for informal trade. Johannesburg: ESSET.
References
53
StreetNet. Women pinafore-sellers and informal traders protest against eThekwini Municipality
for fair trading rights. 8 August 2012.
http://www.streetnet.org.za/show.php?id=388
The International Forum on Globalization. 2002. Alternatives to economic globalization: a better
world is possible. San Franscisco: Berrett-Koehler.
White, R. 21 August 2012. Towards a post-occupy world.
Philosophers for Change, philosophers.posterous.com
http://philoforchange.wordpress.com/2012/08/21/towards-a-post-occupy-world/
Williams, Z. 2 March 2012. The People’s Supermarket: where even the smell of baking bread is
genuine. The Guardian.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/2012/mar/02/london-peoples-supermarket-cooperatives
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitalism
http://oldwww.parliament.gov.za/pls/portal30/docs/FOLDER/PARLIAMENTARY_INFORMATION/
PUBLICATIONS/PEOPLE/chap02.html
http://wiego.org/informal-economy/organizing-organizations
http://wiego.org/wiego/about-wiego
http://www.unahi.org/quotes/native-american-quotes.htm
http://www.uvm.edu/~dewey/reflection_manual/activities.html
NOTES
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