Mawande our host in Knysna’s Khayalethu township (which translates to our home) is not a man short on charisma and charm. From the very moment we meet him we get on as though we were longtime friends reuniting after years apart and picking up right where we left off. “Prepare yourselves to see the township big five – cows, dogs, goats, pigs and chicken”, he jokes. His name in isiXhosa translates to multiply/multiple and true to his name he is a man of many layers. Throughout the time we will spend with him he will slowly reveal his many different layers and so too show us the complex interconnecting narratives that make Khayalethu a place like no other.

Our first stop is in Wit Lokasie (White location) an area so named because the first settlers here were Dutch. We visit a local shebeen owned by a woman warmly known as Ma Bongi to her customers. On our way to the next place we make a brief stop at the breathtaking “View”, a beautiful vantage point overlooking the Knysna lagoon and the town’s centre below.

Our time at the next stop is unlike anything we’ve ever experienced as we get the opportunity to learn about stokvels and communal savings and credit systems. We speak to a local spaza shop owner about the stokvel system and its necessity for business in the township. The group scheme, which often sees friends and neighbours pooling money together in order to buy something to be divided amongst members of the stokvel is an essential part of surviving and thriving. This is a concrete manifestation of the often-abstract term of Ubuntu flung about without a clear understanding of its true meaning. Here one’s well being is physically connected to one’s relationships with others.

A little further down the road we arrive at Xoliswa’s small business and let our hair down, talking about nothing in particular and sharing some laughs, as one often does at the barbershop. As with all good things, our time ko saloon comes to an end. We bid Xoliswa and her patrons goodbye and head for Jewish Camp. Jewish Camp is another gem of a name; so called because of the Jewish family that owned the piece of land before the government bought it. At Jewish Camp we visit the home of Bavuyise Mvumvu, a herbalist and healer who briefly explains to us her role within the community and shares her exhaustive knowledge of roots and other forms of herbal remedies.

We end off the day at Wandu’s home. He tells us that he has converted his RDP house (small home provided by the state), to a double-storey building that also houses a bed and breakfast and restaurant, which he runs with his wife. Lunch is served with a side of nostalgia in the form of hearty ol’ school Afro-pop and jazz from the 80’s and 90’s.