WHAT WE DO
Informal Settlements
DAG has been involved in the upgrading of informal settlements for 35 years. Our focus has included access to basic services, tenure security, urban livelihoods, cooperative governance, and augmenting community agency to drive the upgrading process. Key projects supported by DAG over the years include the Freedom Park informal settlement upgrade, Hangberg insitu upgrade, Knysna informal settlements in-situ upgrade, etc. DAG’s approach to informal settlements is multi-stakeholder engagements, people-centred and driven by the principles of inclusive participatory development.
From 2020 to 2021, DAG provided support to three municipalities in the Western Cape in their efforts to incrementally upgrade informal settlements through the Informal Settlements Support Plan (ISSP). This included Knysna, Mossel Bay and Witzenberg municipalities. In 2021, the team followed this work with the launch of the Asivikelane (‘Lets protect each other’) Campaign, which focuses on service delivery and maintenance in informal settlements by amplifying the voices of informal settlement dwellers themselves. DAG is responsible for co-ordinating respondents and processing data collected from informal settlements in the Western Cape.
Learn more… The Freedom Park Informal Settlement Upgrade Case Study
Informal Settlements Support Plan (ISSP)
Our focus in the informal settlements has included access to basic services, tenure security, urban livelihoods, cooperative governance, and augmenting community agency to drive the upgrading process. Key projects supported by DAG over the years include the upgrading of Freedom Park, Hangberg, and Knysna informal settlements, amongst others. From 2020 to 2021, DAG provided support to three municipalities in the Western Cape in their efforts to incrementally upgrade informal settlements through the Informal Settlements Support Plan (ISSP).
The Most Significant Change Story
Asivikelane Campaign
DAG’s approach to informal settlements is people-centred and driven by the principles of inclusive participatory development. In 2021, DAG followed it’s ISSP work with the launch of the Asivikelane (‘Let’s protect each other’) Campaign, a community led initiative which focuses on service delivery and maintenance in informal settlements by amplifying the voices of informal settlement dwellers themselves. DAG is responsible for coordinating respondents and processing data collected from informal settlements in the Western Cape.
In collaboration with the International Budget Partnership (IBP), DAG facilitate and coordinate the Asivikilane Western Cape. The campaign was started by a number of civil society organisations to report around access (to) and maintenance of basic services in informal settlements.
The Most Significant Change Story
