Ikhayalami is a Non Profit Company, whose primary aim is to develop and implement affordable technical and social solutions to Informal Settlement Upgrading. Our interventions are designed to be embedded into a community-driven process and where appropriate and possible to be scaled up with the support of the State.
Ikhayalami was established in 2006 as a countermeasure to conventional approaches dealing with informality. These are unsustainable and painstakingly slow in meeting the immediate needs of the vast majority of South Africa’s informal settlers. Our work is premised on the realization that informality is part of the modern urban fabric, will remain a reality for the foreseeable future, and holds within it ingenious solutions to our major urban development challenges.
Ikhayalami’s areas of focus address the entire continuum of informal settlement upgrading: research and development into innovative technologies, rapid response to disasters, blocking-out (re-configuring settlement-wide layouts), construction of community facilities, upgrading of shelters, and the creation of holistic neighbourhoods.
By working to provide South Africa’s urban poor communities with better access to quality building materials, physical infrastructure, and planning and construction support, Ikhayalami contributes to the building of a more equitable, inclusive, and sustainable urban future.
“Sharing Begins At Home”
