Imizamo Yethu


Imizamo Yethu, is an informal settlement in the greater Hout Bay Valley area.
The 18 hectare settlement houses approximately 33 600 people..

Infrastructure

The settlement is lacking important infrastructure: minimal water supply, few toilets and no sewerage system. The Disa River which runs through this settlement has the highest level of e-coli bacteria that has ever been recorded in South Africa. The community living conditions were improved by the Niall Mellon Township Trust with their People's Housing Process in 2002. This non-profit organisation based in Ireland sent volunteers to build several hundred basic homes for individuals in Imizamo Yethu.

Tourism industry

Residents provide tours of the preschool, day care, barber shop, auto shop, orphanage, grocery store and local pub. Many locals will also invite tourists into their homes where they sell hand-made bead work and jewellery.

2017 Fire

On 11 and 12 March 2017, a large section of Imizamo Yethu was devastated by fires that killed 3 people, destroying 3,500 homes and displacing 15,000 people.