1. District 6 people’s market (Saturday and Sunday)
The aim of this market was two-fold:
To establish a market of their own for the District 6 community, with only vendors from their own community.
To create awareness and visibility (as part of the larger Trafalgar Renewal weekend) for the rest of the activities.
We were successful on both objectives! The market had 58 stalls, of which 56 were paying stalls (the school and Streetscapes had “free” stalls). We also managed to get the newly elected Ward Councillor (Brandon Golding) to the event (he opened it and stayed the whole day), and got front page coverage for the garden project from the Cape Argus Weekend Edition, as well as a p.5 article in the Argus AM edition of today. Voice of the Cape also mentioned this story in their evening slot of their broadcast. Over and above this, we raised a teeny-tiny profit (which was never the objective), which is being shared by the school and Streetscapes. This market will from now onwards be hosted once a month, and we hope it will grow into something even bigger. We are sending them a full process document, all templates used (i.e. vendor registration form, indemnity forms, income and expense sheet) and all marketing material templates (posters, flyers, etc. that we designed for the event) to ensure a smooth handover of this event to the school and the community representative who will drive this from here onwards. We will also have a formal handover meeting one evening this week. Will send you the next date when I receive it, so you can go and buy some of that really yummy food at those really low prices!
2.Trafalgar Renewal dance-a-thon (Saturday)
The aim of this event was twofold:
To raise funds for the garden project and the school (we agreed to share the profit with the school in exchange for free electricity from the school for 1 year)
To create awareness and visibility (as part of the larger Trafalgar Renewal weekend) for the rest of the activities.
This was a MASSIVE success from a spectator and participant viewpoint! I don’t even know where to start thanking Lindi, Luke and Layne who donated their time, choreography and ENERGY!!! They were absolutely AMAZING and people could not stop talking about them! The lucky draw prizes went down very well and created some excitement throughout the event. We raised a profit of R3 560.00 through the dance-a-thon. Other than that, it was a huge draw card and “energy creator” on the day. According the Mr. Hendricks (the principal) this event, together with the Minstrels, MADE THE DAY!
3.Trafalgar Renewal Garden (Sunday)
The aim of this part of the project was to plant 700 m² of the garden. As part of the preparation for this, we also paid the daily stipends (salaries) for the Streetscapes people who will be taking over the garden. I.e. they have already been able to receive an income for the past 3 weeks and did not have to wait for the garden to be fully constructed.
We also constructed a “dam” for the natural spring water to be harnessed – this includes the full watering system with a pump and then piping through which the water is pumped up the hill into the holding tank, from where the garden can be watered. This means this water no longer just runs into a drain, and that the garden will not be affected by the current drought or water restrictions.
The full garden was constructed – what a massive job, and one well done! A total of 5 010 plants were planted! Mulch walkways were constructed through raking and hard labour by our staff. Growing medium was sifted – some of you really know how to work with a shovel and throw those scoops on the sift!!! Tyres were planted as growing areas. And the whole garden was watered. The memorial bench area was also completed.
I don’t know if anyone saw the wide variety of visitors who came to plant one tree, or one plant on the day … these were all influential members of the community who in this way, dedicated their support to the project in a practical way. One of these people was the Ward Councillor, Brandon Golding. The memorial bench area was also sponsored by a company called Cool Bananas – dedicating the area and 1 veggie patch to Malcolm’s (the owner) brother who passed away 11 months ago – and you would have seen the family come in for photos. They have also pledged their ongoing support of the garden. This part of the weekend was covered in both Argus articles and some online publications as well. 10 people will have permanent employment in this garden, with 15 more having temporary employment at specific times in the process.
4.Trafalgar Renewal Mosaic (Sunday)
Wow, what a massive job this turned out to be! Excessively hard work and I am so proud of every person who attempted to cross-thread specifically! As we said yesterday, the mosaic isn’t finished. This project will be finished off by a group of engineering students from America who committed last week already that they will join us in this project. We met with them this morning and they are so excited about this! We are aiming to have the mosaic erected on the fence by end of November and I will send you pictures once we have finished! These types of mosaics will become part of every Streetscapes garden from now onwards and will become part of their brand. In the preparation phase for this part of the project, we also paid an income to homeless people – 10c per cap that they made holes in, thereby paying stipends (according to their output) to 5 people for 2 weeks.
Once again a big thank you to every person who joined in the day’s activities.