“CAMISSA, meaning ‘the place of sweet waters’ is the ancient Khoi name for Cape Town. Embedded, lost and obscured within the city’s fabric this vital ecological and cultural link still exists….”
The Reclaim Camissa Project, a citizen activation project to investigate, document and restore vital ecological and cultural heritage links between Table Mountain and the sea in the Cape Town Central City, has started to use Google Maps to good effect to make information more interactive and more accessible. See Google Maps for details.
Also visit the Reclaim Camissa Project Facebook site for further information.
Camissa, or 'place of sweet waters', alludes to the ancient water system that still flows under the modern city
Thousands of litres of fresh water from the mountains, the very reason for centuries of human habitation and subsequent colonial conquest in Cape town, flow all the year round via the municipal stormwater system into Table Bay
Tracing cultural history - Buitenkant Street which linked the settlement of Cape Town to the Wash Houses next to the Platteklip Stream where clothes were washed by slaves
Thanks for this lovely post, Andrew. Hopefully you’ll be joining us on a Sunday walk about with your family, as we GPS and plot the sites – and collect litter as we do so
Also a wonderful photo of Buitenkant Street, please add it to the RECLAIM CAMISSA page, so that when we load the ‘slave walk’ we’ll be able to add it to our collection of heritage photos.
Regards, Caron
What time is the Sunday walkabout, and where do you meet?
Sunday, 12th Sept. @ 9h00 we will meet at Homestead Park on the corner of Upper Orange and Sidmouth Avenue. We shall cover the Field of Springs, Main Spring and walk down to the 5th precinct to the Old Millstream, Molteno Reservoir, the lower reservoirs and shall attempt to obtain permission to enter Graaff’s Hydro-Electrical. Bring along your water bottles & a garbage bag to collect litter.