Experience Bo-Kaap: Local tourism and cultural heritage
Munifa Canterbury, organiser of the Bo-Kaap Experience, with partners Jacky Poking from the Bailey Family Foundation and her daughter Kirsten Poking of No Womxn Left Behind, at the Schotsche Kloof Civic Centre on Sunday, July 6.
Image: Fouzia Van Der Fort
Tourism businesses and stakeholders showcased their services and products at The Bo-Kaap Experience, held at the Schotsche Kloof Civic Centre on Sunday, 6 July.
Organiser Munifa Canterbury, a Bo-Kaap local and Global Tourism safety ambassador, said it was important for local tourism operators to promote and represent their own communities.
Ms Canterbury, a martial artist, fourth-degree black belt, and sensei, uses her skills and resources to act as the eyes and ears on the ground in the CBD and Bo-Kaap tourism hotspots.
Pictured at the back, from left, are Bo-Kaap entertainers Ebrahim Alexander, Anwar Alexander, and Zaid Dante, all from Bo-Kaap. In front are Lewis Paris from Kensington, Isgaak Khan from Bo-Kaap, Ighsaan Japhta from Grassy Park, and Abdul Jacobs from Bo-Kaap.
Image: Fouzia Van Der Fort
Visitors to the expo had the chance to fold and taste samosas, engage with local soap makers through scent and conversation, trace their roots on a family tree, and network with potential business partners
They were also treated to live performances of traditional Nederlands liedjies, including the well-known Bo-Kaap anthem, Rosa.
Fazlin Ferguson, owner of Taste of Bo-Kaap, is also a member of Women Neighbours in Business Bo-Kaap, a group of unemployed women who work together to host visitors, provide meals, and showcase the vibrant community known for its brightly coloured walls.
Image: Fouzia Van Der Fort
Fazlin Ferguson, owner of Taste of Bo-Kaap, is a registered tour guide and a member of Women Neighbours in Business (WNIB) Bo-Kaap — a collective of unemployed women who work together to host visitors, share traditional meals, and showcase the area’s distinctive culture and colourful streets.
“We meet at a house and we share with the tourists how to make a dish and have them enjoy the meal in Bo-Kaap,” she said.
Ms Ferguson offers tours of the city, District Six, and Bo-Kaap, and says she is proud to have been featured in Cape Town Tourism’s brochure.
“I grew up between District Six and Bo-Kaap, and I come from one of the oldest families in Bo-Kaap — the Williams and Francis family, which was my mother’s maiden surname,” she said.
Ms Ferguson shared that her great-grandmother, Bibi Williams, was raised in the historic Spolander House — a farmhouse over 200 years old, located at the corner of Pentz and Dorp Streets in Schotsche Kloof.
She spoke of the original craftsmen who shaped the community by carving wood furniture, serving as religious leaders, and contributing to the area’s rich culture and heritage.
“I am one of the lucky ones still living in Bo-Kaap,” she said, acknowledging the rising costs of living in the area due to municipal tariffs, an influx of foreigners, and the construction of hotels.