Sketches

CLICK HERE TO READ THE VISION2020 In late 2015, I was commissioned by Open Africa , a rural tourism route development organisation, to develop a tourism route in the Dwars River Valley. The Dwars River Valley is that stretch of winelands on the Helshoogte road between Stellenbosch and Franschoek, centred by the towns of Pniel, Kylemore and Lanquedoch. It must be one of the most magnificent valleys on earth. Open Africa had started a route 10 years earlier in the valley, but for various reasons the route had fizzled out. So this time around was an attempt to give it another go with 10 years of new learning to draw on, and financing from the European Union over a 3 year period. The work started in late August 2015, and at the time of writing this page, we been on the project for 10 months now. In May 2016, we - myself as route mentor, together with the 9 founding members, all businesses in the valley - started to solidify a vision for the valley, drawing on months of conversati...

Innovation is a big buzz word in South Africa at the moment. Stellenbosch, the 2nd oldest town in SA, has claimed the title of South Africa's innovation capital. Innovation seminars are happening all over the place, with plenty of exclamation marks. And squadrons of innovation gurus are jetted in to share with us their secrets to accelerating innovation. In corporate SA, you ain't on point if your tongue ain't talking innovation. And it is all tragically anti-innovation. Stellenbosch is the least innovative place, and the most unequal. The maths is clear. And the emptiness of it all is clear - desperate attempts by the old guard to keep themselves relevant by using what they perceive to be the language of the day. It's quite a circus to watch, those chinos and old school tie brigades slapping each other on the back with craft lager in the other hand, keeping things exactly as they have always been. The real innovation hub of Cape Town, I think, is the R310 corri...

This piece was commissioned by Virgin Australia for their inflight magazine. Below is my text version, click the image below for the .PDF edited version that made publication.  Insider's Guide CAPE TOWN Table Mountain is flanked by two iconic collaborators: to the left is Devil’s Peak, and to the right, Lion’s Head. If you look at Devil’s Peak from the foot of Lion’s Head, you will see the form of a woman lying in the mountain. And once you see her, you will never stop seeing her.  She’s lying on her back, her dreadlocks flowing into Table Bay at Salt River. She has just given birth, and the baby lies peacefully at her feet, forming the left slope of Table Mountain’s table top. The woman’s head and breast are the two peaks of Devil’s Peak. Take your time to find her, because it changes everything about the city once you see her.  This image is the reason Cape Town is called The Mother City . She is a maternal city, with all the contradictions and po...