The Eastern Cape Maritime Oral History Project group with SAHRA CEO, Peter Mokwena

The phase of conducting field work for the Eastern Cape Maritime Oral History Project has come to a conclusion. Lusanda and Andisiwe returned from the second phase of field work on April 4th  which was even more successful than their first trip!

Lusanda writes in her field work report, “The ocean plays a significant role in the day-to-day lives of the people living in close proximity to it. We spoke to a number of people in the coastal villages of KwaNdengane, Cuthwini and Mbotyi in Lusikisiki and Noqhekwane in Port St Johns, who told us how the sea fits in with their daily lives. We have divided these into 10 subheadings, namely: Ownership, “Nature”, Food & Income, Tourism, Leisure, Health, Religious & Traditional Practices, and Mythologies.”

Lusanda right before her big presentation to SAHRA

The holistic nature of the field work yielded engaging and at times, challenging information which was subsequently presented at 2 different forums. The first presentation was to the research team reference group on April 12th and the second presentation was to SAHRA on April 16th. The collective process of reflecting on the material that was presented to the groups led to lively and vigorous debate. It ic clear from the response of those that came to listen to the findings that the creation of a sustainable approach to heritage management is supported through the process of conducting research of this nature!

The presentation to SAHRA took place in the boardroom at the Castle of Good Hope in Cape Town and was well attended!

The project now moves into the next stage of activity which will involve the creation of an exhibition and NAS training which will take place in the area that the field work was conducted!