The name ‘Khanyisa’ means to ‘bring light’. The name signifies the re-integration of previously split communitiese, capsulating all that is positive about the Cape, which has traditionally been a melting pot of nations. The Khanyisa Cape Route is all about a pointing tourists to other destinations in the townships, not just the beaten track to struggle route landmarks.
Expect the unexpected on a township tour. This route offers just that: from the vibrant music and rhythms of a township shebeen to the rustic simplicity of alternative accommodation in an informal settlement. The participants of this route offer visitors the opportunity to share their homes and lives with them. Khayelitsha is the biggest and the youngest black township to emerge on the Cape Flats. It was originally a squatter settlement, but is now the third-largest township in South Africa.
With a population of approximately one million people of which the majority are Xhosa speaking, they still value their culture and history. They are also engaged in diffrent activities with many of them being related to tourism – these include arts and crafts, beadwork, restaurants that serve different foods and African cuising, interesting cultural tours conducted by operators from the area and many more.
Khayelitsha is regarded as a true reflextion of all African traditions. The majority of people live in informal settlements with a very high persentage of unemployment and poverty being the order of the day. What is interesting here is that most of these people are not just sitting down waiting for the government to spoon feed them; they are engaging themselves in diffrent self-help projects. Such projects include Vukuzenzele, which encourages people to stand up and do things for themselves. Most local residents survive by selling different products along the streets in order for them to be able to put food on the table for their families and also be able to educate their children.
