Set in the oldest part of Khayeletsha, the largest informal settlement in Cape Town, home to over two million people (about a third of the total population of the Cape), Vicky has converted her home in to a Bed and Breakfast. She claims to be the smallest hotel in Africa. Not so sure how true that is now: she started out with just two rooms in the already humble home her and her family lived in, made from corrugated iron, wood and any spare scraps found around the place. Now she’s living like a queen with a two-story hotel sporting seven guest rooms.
Her’s is a fascinating story. A local council meeting was called when Vicky first struck upon this innovative business idea and it was agreed upon that the neighbourhood would benefit from the business brought in with the tourists. While the issue of whether this type of tourism is exploitative or not remains in question for us outsiders, Vicky claims it is simply a mutual exchange. The tourists come to learn about a different way of life and the inhabitants of Site C benefit from the income generation. And they have benefited. Vicky’s standing in the community has allowed her to throw her weight around in high places. Almost all families living on the street have received government houses (simple and small but sturdy and safe) and legal right to the land they live on.
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