• Phuhlisani turns 10
Phuhlisani friends and associates gathered on Friday 5th December to celebrate our 10 year anniversary, hear plans for the launch of an NPO wing and pay tribute to Boyce Williams forced into retirement due to ill health. |
• Cape Winelands District partners with Phuhlisani
Tirelo Bosha Public Service Improvement Facility approves a CWDM proposal for a process of research-led social dialogue, policy and strategy development for the long term settlement of farm workers on and off farms |
• Contributing to national and provincial land reform summits
Phuhlisani has been active at the National Tenure Summit and Western Cape Land Reform Summit. Presentations and papers are available for download |
• Resolving complex tenure and land rights cases
Mediation and community facilitation panelists from Phuhlisani are working to address a range of complex projects |
• Steady progress in Ebenheaser
A community development and land acquisition plan complete and a new CPA registered |
• Farm Worker Open Day in Pniel
Hundreds of farm workers and learners gathered in Pniel for the fourth farm worker open day hosted by the Cape Winelands District Municipality. |
• In search of solutions at Ebenheaser
Towards a community land acquisition and development plan |
• Smallholder agriculture scans complete
Phuhlisani has a completed a scan of smallholder agriculture in the Overberg and John Taolo Gaetsewe Districts |
• How can smallholder producers be best supported?
Consulting roleplayers in the Overberg and John Taolo Gaetsewe Districts on the DAFF Strategic Plan for Smallholder Producers |
• Facilitating consultations in the Overberg and John Tao Gaetsewe Districts on the DAFF strategic plan for smallholder producers
Identifying ways to improve and better align support for smallholder producers in selected municipalities |
• Supporting Lanquedoc Housing Association (LHA)
Identifying options for future management |
• Finding solutions in Ebenheaser
Exploring options for land restoration and agricultural development |
• Phuhlisani obtains full accreditation with the AGRISETA as a training service provider
Phuhlisani can now offer SAQA accredited training in agricultural production management |
• Presenting at Carnegie 3
Phuhlisani presents on research undertaken for the Programme for Support to Pro-Poor Policy Development on the need for a poverty information service |
• Facilitating policy dialogue for a new policy on extension and advisory services
Phuhlisani is working with DAFF and a range of state and non state development actors to develop policy options and facilitate a national dialogue resulting in the development of new policy for South Africa |
• New dedicated extension policy website soon to go live, Twitter stream starts today
Join the national conversation to shape a new extension policy for agriculture, forestry and fisheries. |
• Phuhlisani professional team to facilitate the development of a national policy for agricultural, forestry and fisheries extension in partnership with DAFF and sector stakeholders
The Ford Foundation has awarded Phuhlisani a one year project grant to support the policy development process. |
• Ursula Smith: Three years with Phuhlisani
Ursula Smith joined Phuhlisani on the 1st June 2009 as our admin and logistics manager. She has been a co owner of Phuhlisani since January 2011. |
• From subject to citizen
The Council for the Advancement of the South African Constitution (CASAC) produces a comprehensive review of the National Development Plan - Vision 2030 |
• Working with the Land Rights Management Facility to regularise Communal Property Associations (CPAs)
Phuhlisani is udertaking a fact finding visit to the Khomani San in the Northern Cape and is working to mediate a dispute between Anglo- American Farms Investment Holdings and the Languedoc Housing Association. |
• Phuhlisani working with Eco Africa to develop a community development and land acquisition plan in Ebenheaser
Phuhlisani is acting as the task manager for the co-development of a plan to enable disbursement of funds from a settled Restitution Claim |
• Phuhlisani appointed to undertake a rapid review of Area Based Plans for Land Reform countrywide
The Department of Land Affairs introduced an area based approach to land reform in 2006 to locate land reform within municipal IDPs and align it with the programmes of other sectors of government. |
• Multiple perspectives on changing agricultural employment patterns in the Hex and Breede River Valleys
A wide range of state and civil society development actors gathered in De Doorns to participate in the second Cape Winelands District research led round table dialogue |
• Phuhlisani submits a learning programme on agricultural management practices
Ursula Smith and Eugene Liebenberg put us on the road towards AgriSeta accreditation linked to Unit Standard 13357 |
• Strategies to support small holders
PLAAS has produced Research Report 41 - a two volume report providing a situation analysis and a collection of case studies commissioned for the Second Economy Strategy Project |
• Roundtable workshop No 2 in the Cape Winelands: Changing agricultural labour patterns in the Hex and Breede River Valleys
The second roundtable workshop is scheduled for Thursday 10th May in the Council Chambers of the Cape Winelands District Municipality in Worcester. |
• Small farmer focus groups in three provinces
Phuhlisani has been commissioned by the Japanese International Co-operation Agency (JICA) to conduct focus group research with small farmers as part of a wider PlaNet Finance study |
• Dube TradePort Worker Empowerment Initiative
Phuhlisani appointed to investigate empowerment options and to develop a road map |
• Successful mediation in Picketberg
Boyce Williams negotiates long standing farm dispute on behalf of the Land Rights Management Facility |
• PLAAS State of Rural Civil Society Workshop
Presenting research as a stimulus for reflection, dialogue and improved practice |
• Draft scan of rural civil society complete
Phuhlisani recently presented the draft findings of a rural civil society scan to an inhouse workshop at PLAAS in preparation for a civil society workshop on 12th and 13th March |
• Out of the Starting Blocks
Phuhlisani wishes everyone who we work with a constructive and stimulating 2012. |
• Op die Plasie: 16th December 2011
Masithethe, Laat ons praat, Let's talk. More than 300 people attend this Reconciliation Day Event starting an important new conversation about the future of life on farms. |
• Phuhlisani: 2011 in review
We have posted a report on our work in 2011 which describes the combination of research, strategy, training and capacity developmentlivelihoods and institutional development initiatives we have been involved in over the past year |
• Decentralised land governance
A new publication from PLAAS features local voices and case studies from Botswana, Madagascar and Mozambique. Phuhlisani researched the Botswana case study with the assitance of DITSHWANELO, the Botswana Centre for Human Rights |
• Op die plasie: Let's talk, Laat ons praat, Masithethe
This Friday 16th December is a public holiday - Reconciliation Day which we will celebrate through the Op die Plasie festival and awards ceremony at Kleinplasie in Worcester. |
• Phuhlisani makes submission on the Green Paper on Land Reform
Phuhlisani emailed its submission to the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform today |
• Round table dialogue discusses troubled wine sector
Farmers, workers, unions, wine sector groupings, government departments and the municipalities in the CWDM search for solutions in a Phuhlisani research led dialogue |
• Assessing the need for a Poverty Information Service
Download and complete a ten question check a box survey |
• Global and local trends in the wine grape sector in the Cape Winelands District
A research led round table dialogue |
• Research led roundtable on trends in the wine grape sector in the Cape Winelands
Implications for profitability, employment, living and working conditions on farms |
• Seeking your support for a new scan of rural civil society in South Africa
Who is out there? What are they doing? How do they engage with the state and other development actors? How can this engagement be strengthern by access to research? How can local needs inform action research agendas? |
• A scan of rural civil society for PLAAS
Examining the politics of research and social engagement |
• Gearing up for Year 2 of CWDM farmworker programme
Phuhlisani signs service level agreement for Year 2 |
• Training and development needs assessment
Unlocking capacity for pro poor policy development |
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• Online gallery of pictures from the CWDM farm workers open day available
All the photos from the farm workers open day have been uploaded to a Picasa gallery |
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• Cape Winelands Farm Workers Open Day a huge success
Hundreds of farm workers from all over the Cape Winelands District attended the second annual Farm Workers Open Day at the show halls at Kleinplasie in Worcester |
• Cape Winelands Farm Worker Open Day - 18th June
Invitations are out for the second annual Focus on Farm Workers Open Day to be held at Kleinplasie in Worcester from 9:00am - 4:00pm |
• Farmworker civil rights education workshops continue Saturday 28th May
150 farm workers from the five local municipalities making up the Cape Winelands District signed up for the civil rights education programme |
• What role for deliberative dialogue in the agricultural sector?
In a context of strained relations between organised agriculture, government, workers and NGOs working in the agricultural sector Phuhlisani is exploring the potential of structured dialogue to discuss and address problems. |
• Managing social conflict risk
Draft Memorandum of agreement prepared for discussion and review by key role players in the Cape Winelands District and the provincial government of the Western Cape |
• Phuhlisani to support Middelrus vegetable joint venture
Phuhlisani appointed by the KwaZulu-Natal Agribusiness Development Agency to support Middelrus vegetable joint venture |
• Investigating decentralised land governance in Botswana
PLAAS has partnered with DITSHWANELO - the Botswana Centre for Human Rights to examine issues arising out of the Land Rights Programme run from their Kasane office as part of a broader focus on decentralised land governance. |
• Developing a MOA to manage conflict risk between South Africans and foreign migrants
Reporting on the first three of a series of five workshops which kicked off in the Cape Winelands District on Tuesday, 1 March |
• Land, memory, reconstruction and justice
Launch of new book reviewing the Land Restitution process in South Africa |
• Learning from De Doorns
Developing a MOA for local management of conflict risk related to foreign migrants in the Cape Winelands |
• Back to the Plot!
Debating a new agenda for rural transformation in South Africa
A public debate on Monday 31st January at the Centre for the Book Cape Town |
• Capacity building for natural resource management in Ethiopia
Phuhlisani is part of an international consortium designing a three year capacity building programme for natural resource management, tourism, and eco-tourism with Ethiopian Institutes of Higher Education |
• A workbook on decentralised land governance in Southern Africa
Phuhlisani has been contracted by PLAAS to research case studies from Botswana, Madagascar, Mozambique and South Africa and prepare a workbook for practitioners and policy makers |
• Phuhlisani appointed to prepare a population migration strategy for the Cape Winelands District Municipality
CWDM seeks a preventative and a responsive framework to effectively minimise and manage social conflict related to the influx of foreign migrants into the urban areas within the District. |
• Tenure and Development Community of Practice established
Following up from the Learning from Complexity workshop it has been agreed to establish an online Tenure and Development Community of Practice to bring together researchers, practitioners and policy makers. |
• Actor collaboration toolkit complete
An overview of key debates, three case studies, a draft syllabus and an introductory Prezi prepared for the African Centre for Cities |
• Learning from complexity
Workshop on securing land rights in urban, rural and small town South Africa - 22 - 23 November 2010 |
• Actor collaboration toolkit under development
Phuhlisani has been commissioned to develop an online toolkit on actor collaboration for the Centre for African Cities on behalf of the Association of African Planning Schools |
• Assessing skills development needs on properties restored through Restitution
Phuhlisani has been appointed by AGRISETA to assess skills development needs on restitution projects in Limpopo and Mpumalanga where people on the land are focusing on livestock production |
• Schmidtsdrift: The poverty of Restitution?
Phuhlisani presented a paper at the recent conference on overcoming structural poverty and inequality which critically examined the impact of the Restitution programme on poverty and inequality in South Africa. |
• Poverty and Inequality Conference 20 - 22 Sept Johannesburg
Poverty falls marginally but inequality on the rise: Keynote highlights |
• Phuhlisani completes research into self survey process in Joe Slovo informal settlement
Phuhlisani has recently completed a series of interviews with role players involved in the 2009 self enumeration survey conducted in Joe Slovo informal settlement in Cape Town and written up a research paper. |
• Upcoming conference on overcoming chronic poverty and inequality in South Africa: 20 - 22 September 2010, the Birchwood Hotel, Johannesburg.
Phuhlisani submits a paper entitled The poverty of Restitution? which critically examines our experience of working in Schmidtsdrift - a large Restitution claim in the Northern Cape. |
• Sorry Ghana!
Thwarted by the hand of Suarez. Our thoughts on the game |
• Deliberative democracy as a tool for dialogue and development
In rural settings characterised by contestation how can 'deliberative democracy' approaches contribute to an improved climate of dialogue and meaningful change? |
• Cape Winelands Rural Development Conference
The CWDM hosted a one day rural development conference at Elsenberg on Thursday 24th March |
• Well done Madoda! Go Ghana!
Phuhlisani salutes the defeat of France. Well played madoda. You may not have won the Cup but you made us proud. Now we get behind Ghana to win the cup for Africa. |
• Hundreds of farmworkers turn out for the first Focus on Farmworkers Open Day
Kleinplasie Living Open-air Museum in Worcester was an appropriate venue for the open day which saw more than 200 farmworkers awarded certificates for their involvement in a civil rights education programme. |
• Joint Portfolio Committee Workshop on rural development and agrarian reform
Examining evidence around grassroots practices, policy implementation and identification of policy gaps |
• How could a Land and Rural Development Information System (LARDIS) assist in improved co-ordination of government development effort and provide reliable information for M&E?
Its no secret that government development effort in the land and rural development sector remains poorly aligned and co-ordinated. Development actors continue to work in silos. How can we break free? Collaborators wanted. |
• Cape Winelands farmworker education programme focuses on sectoral determination and dismissals
More than 150 farm workers gathered at a training venue near Rawsonville for the second workshop in the civil rights education series funded by the District Municipality. |
• Cape Winelands research and farmworker civic education programme get under way
View a Prezi which provides an animated overview of the programme |
• Training of trainers workshop - Civil rights education programme for farmworkers in Cape Winelands District Municipality
A team of ten facilitators and advice office workers are attending a two day training of trainers workshop from 29th - 30th March in Worcester. |
• Rural development strategy takes shape in the Northern Cape
Phuhlisani has incorporated stakeholder commentary to produce five strategy papers as part of a draft rural development strategy for the Northern Cape. |
• Phuhlisani to develop farm recovery strategies
Phuhlisani has been appointed to develop turn around strategies and provide practical support to struggling land reform projects |
• Towards a rural development strategy for the Northern Cape
Phuhlisani working with Northern Cape Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development to develop draft rural development strategy |
• Phuhlisani facilitates Live the Future HIV and AIDS scenarios workshop for Metropolitan Foundation
Phuhlisani runs initial one day workshop for officials from Breede River Municipality |
• Phuhlisani and Associates research evictions in the Cape Winelands District Municipality
Phuhlisani, PLAAS and IR Change have been contracted to research farmdweller evictions, develop and run a civil rights education programme |
• Phuhlisani welcomes two new partners
Ursula Smith and Siyabu Manona join Phuhlisani |
• Hunger in the cities
How to best respond to urban hunger |
• Watch a two minute movie on Phuhlisani and our work
Phuhlisani has started using Prezi - innovative web based story telling and presentation package where the only limits are one's imagination. |
• New resources on rural development available from Phuhlisani
Phuhlisani has recently completed a rapid review of the international and South African literature on approaches to rural development |
• Reviewing progress towards achievement of socio economic rights in South Africa and the SADC region
Sixty participants from various South African NGOs and civil society formations plus human rights activists from the region attend workshop. |
• Successful Rural Development Think Tank debates approaches to rural development
Phuhlisani and the Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS) combined to organise a one day Think Tank on approaches to rural development with the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform. The workshop was held on 13th August in |
• Phuhlisani moves into new offices
Phuhlisani is now at 85 Durban Rd, Mowbray in Cape Town |
• Schmidtsdrift CPA AGM a success
The SCPA held a successful AGM on the 23rd and 24th May 2009 adopting a new Constitution and electing a restructured management committee under the supervision of the Independent Electoral Commission |
• The challenge of settling forestry claims
In April the then Minister of the DLA handed over land forestry land purchased from Mondi which was returned to seven community trusts in the Vyheid District |
• Use it or lose it?
The outgoing Minister of Land Afffairs introduced the 'use it or lose it' principle' where land acquired under the Redistribution programme could be repossessed by the State if there was evidence that it was not being poperly utilised. |
• A new Department of Rural Development and Land Reform
President Zuma announced his new Cabinet yesterday and restructured the former Departments of Agriculture and Land Affairs. |
• Elections are upon us: What do the parties offer to strengthen land reform and rural development?
Professor Ben Cousins Director of the Institute for Poverty, Land and Agararian studies recently commented on the ANC election manifesto |
• Schmidtsdrift CPA poised for a crucial AGM
Phuhlisani has been working for almost a year with the SCPA to assist it develop a new Constitution and a suite of practical development plans. Now its time for implementation... |
• High-Level Meeting on “African Agriculture in the 21st Century: Meeting the Challenges,
Making a Sustainable Green Revolution”
African Ministers met in Windhoek 9 -10 February 2009 to explore ways to strengthen African agriculture |
• High-Level Meeting on “African Agriculture in the 21st Century: Meeting the Challenges,
Making a Sustainable Green Revolution”
African Ministers met in Windhoek 9 -10 February 2009 to explore ways to strengthen African agriculture |
• Stewardship and land reform
Joint Conservation International and SANBI workshop initiates conversation between conservationists and land reform practitioners |
• Land reform under renewed scrutiny
Recent reports argue that the performance of land reform and the failure of the State to adequately support people acquiring land under the programme is likely to gain a higher profile in the forthcoming election campaign |
• South African Human Rights Commission releases farm report
On September 30th 2008 the SAHRC launched its report based on public hearings in September 2007 called to assess the progress made in terms of land tenure security, safety and labour relations in farming communities since 2003 |
• Rebuilding agriculture in Zimbabwe
How deep is the crisis? Can investment in smallholder agriculture provide a way forward? |
• Department of Land Affairs accredits Phuhlisani and Associates as a strategic partner
DLA has accredited a number of strategic partners across the country. Strategic partners will package and support land reform projects and manage land acquired by the Department under the Proactive Land Acquisition Programme |
• Examining critical success factors enabling successful smallholder agriculture
Phuhlisani completes extension review and two case studies examining urban agriculture in Cape Town and small farmers on the Commonage in Prins Albert |
• Providing planning and development support at Schmidtsdrift
Phuhlisani clarifies rights and benefits, identifies development options and providies mediation and institutional development support to help revitalise this Restitution project |
• Central Karoo Area Based Plan for land and agrarian reform complete
Central Karoo Area Based Plan handed over to DLA - 15th July 2008 |
• In your ear
Episode 3 in the Ikhuba podcast series is now available. It focuses on area based planning for land reform in the Central Karoo |
