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Speaker 1: Every single Thursday, we take a moment to recognize the

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Speaker 1: people and the spaces that's doing the quiet, intentional work

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Speaker 1: that actually holds communities together. Today's everyday heroes is connected

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Speaker 1: to birth Spaces. It's part of the Birth of Foundation.

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Speaker 1: It's designed not just for meetings, but from what I

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Speaker 1: understand for connection, for collaboration, and then most importantly something

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Speaker 1: we don't talk about often enough, but rest pause, which

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Speaker 1: in itself I think can be a form of activism.

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Speaker 1: Joining us Now we have Timbella and Timbella, welcome to

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Speaker 1: Cape Talk.

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Speaker 2: Thank you, thank you for having me.

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Speaker 1: Now, first you've got to tell us just a little

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Speaker 1: bit about birth spaces. I mean, when somebody years about

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Speaker 1: the Birth of Foundation, we might know exactly what the

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Speaker 1: Birth of Foundation does.

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Speaker 3: It's a global foundation.

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Speaker 1: It's been around, I know in Cape Town we're very

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Speaker 1: lucky we have the birth the same.

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Speaker 3: Well so familiar with it. But birth are spaces? What

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Speaker 3: is that?

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Speaker 4: So better spaces launched in twenty twenty, we aren't. We

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Speaker 4: have two flagship spaces in Cape Town, which is the

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Speaker 4: beth A House which is based in Mobra, and then

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Speaker 4: we have the Betha Retreat, which is based in the Winelands,

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Speaker 4: and the purpose of the spaces was really when we

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Speaker 4: saw that there was a need for spaces where organizations, activists,

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Speaker 4: artists and lawyers can come together who are doing similar

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Speaker 4: work but don't have a space where they can collaborate,

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Speaker 4: come together and engage in the work that they're working on.

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Speaker 4: And therefore the spaces were introduced to help bridge that

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Speaker 4: gap and understanding what access looks like, what excess looks

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Speaker 4: like to spaces, especially in the city that we're in,

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Speaker 4: and how do we as better Spaces sort of help

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Speaker 4: mediate we we're not coming with all the solutions, but

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Speaker 4: how do we help fill the gap that we are

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Speaker 4: able to fill to make sure that there is a

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Speaker 4: space for organizations to come together, there is a space

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Speaker 4: for activists to come together, to organize and to collaborate

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Speaker 4: with each other. And so basically that's where the start

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Speaker 4: of Better Spaces came from. And Betha House was the

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Speaker 4: first one to launch in twenty twenty and then now

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Speaker 4: three years ago the Betha Retreat was launched.

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Speaker 1: It's fascinating to me because I in my work, because

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Speaker 1: I work in media and I work with a lot

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Speaker 1: of creative teams. I noticed very early on the importance

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Speaker 1: that space actually gives to create excellent collaborations, excellent work.

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Speaker 3: So talk to me a.

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Speaker 1: Little bit about have has the space has been designed

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Speaker 1: because I imagine everything Bertha does is very intentional, So

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Speaker 1: I would imagine that the space is designed to facilitate

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Speaker 1: these kinds of things which we actually don't think about

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Speaker 1: often as humans.

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Speaker 3: Yes, and how does it actually help us to.

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Speaker 1: Get done what we need to get done?

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Speaker 4: I think also just to go through if I use

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Speaker 4: the example of Betha House and what Betha House offers

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Speaker 4: as a space. So we have a co work space,

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Speaker 4: we have a cinema, we have a podcast studio, slash

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Speaker 4: and editing suit and just some of the things that

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Speaker 4: I've mentioned speaks to different programming pillars that we speak

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Speaker 4: to as better spaces. We have your special Justice, which

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Speaker 4: the building speaks to that people have access to space.

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Speaker 4: We have narrative justice well that speaks to do young

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Speaker 4: filmmakers we're still upcoming have space to showcase they work.

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Speaker 2: Do they have space to edit their work?

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Speaker 4: And then we also speak to if we look at

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Speaker 4: our podcast studio, angels are looking to branch how do

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Speaker 4: they communicate the work that they do, but they don't

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Speaker 4: have the resources. And I think one of the other

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Speaker 4: things that I didn't mention ela is looking at the

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Speaker 4: funding and what's happening with funding currently understanding that angels

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Speaker 4: are funded for programming but not funded to access spaces.

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Speaker 4: They're not funded to retreat, they not funded to do

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Speaker 4: strategy sessions. And therefore we as better spaces exist to

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Speaker 4: say here's a space where you can come, you can

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Speaker 4: have your strategy session, where you can come and you

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Speaker 4: can retreat. I always think about what is the word retreat,

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Speaker 4: sort of what do people related to, and it's related

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Speaker 4: to people who have money, people who can afford to

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Speaker 4: go retreat, people who can afford to go to the winelands.

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Speaker 2: And we look at how expensive it is to.

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Speaker 4: Access those spaces, and we work on a three to

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Speaker 4: four tier payment system where that people who get into

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Speaker 4: the spaces for free, they don't pay because they don't

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Speaker 4: have the funds to pay. There are people who are

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Speaker 4: in then there's low, medium, and top tier. So those

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Speaker 4: who pay the top help us host those who can't

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Speaker 4: afford to pay. And that's what the motto of Beth

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Speaker 4: Spaces about is about reciprocity. How do you use the

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Speaker 4: space give back to the community within bethter spaces.

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Speaker 2: So some people will use.

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Speaker 4: The space will say I have a skill to share.

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Speaker 4: I don't have the funds, but I have a skill

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Speaker 4: to share. How do we use that skill to sort

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Speaker 4: of help other organizations who I need of that skill

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Speaker 4: within the building. And we've seen that, Like you talk

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Speaker 4: about design and intentionality is something that we talk we

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Speaker 4: take very seriously. We're intentional about how we build. We

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Speaker 4: have a value which we work under which is radical hospitality,

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Speaker 4: and that's making sure that people will come into our

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Speaker 4: spaces feel welcome, they feel like they're part of the space,

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Speaker 4: and that doesn't only live within us who work at it,

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Speaker 4: but that people that work in the spaces are able

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Speaker 4: to also associate with that radical hospitality. And that isn't

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Speaker 4: gonna say radical hospitality is because we want to say

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Speaker 4: we want to do hospitality differently. Even when we talk

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Speaker 4: about beth Retreat, where we talk about it's a conferencing

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Speaker 4: and accommodation venue, but how do we do hospitality differently

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Speaker 4: as civil society organizations as well? How do we make

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Speaker 4: sure that and it's it could be simple things as

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Speaker 4: you know in hospitality you walk in and you barely

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Speaker 4: see the staff or the stuff is in the back ground,

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Speaker 4: but with us, the stuff is always in the forefront.

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Speaker 4: You'll talk to anyone that's part of the stuff because

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Speaker 4: that's radical hospitality. You're part of the team. You're just

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Speaker 4: coming to retreat, but you're becoming part of the space

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Speaker 4: as well. And we always talk about if you talk

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Speaker 4: about third spaces and what third spaces actually mean, what

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Speaker 4: does a space that's not home, that's not work, that's

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Speaker 4: not school look like. And that's where better spaces fits in.

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Speaker 4: It's a space where people can come in form a community.

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Speaker 4: It's a space where people can meet people that can

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Speaker 4: collaborate with and that's the community we're trying to build.

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Speaker 4: You know, people who are looking for like minded people,

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Speaker 4: people who are looking to sort of grow the work

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Speaker 4: that they're doing but they don't know how, and they

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Speaker 4: can meet people who they can collaborate with in order

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Speaker 4: to grow that work.

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Speaker 1: We're talking about birth spaces and we're talking to Timbala

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Speaker 1: and Tangana in our Everyday Hero space and it is

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Speaker 1: a really, really great conversation.

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Speaker 3: I think it's quite insightful.

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Speaker 1: That you guys it up as a space and as

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Speaker 1: a need because I would almost would imagine that in

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Speaker 1: the energy of space or in the activist space because

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Speaker 1: you don't normally have access to this kind of thing.

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Speaker 1: You just make a plan and you just you figure

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Speaker 1: out and things just work. So it's almost normalized, you know.

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Speaker 1: But when you talk, when you talk about it the

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Speaker 1: way that you speak about it, it makes sense like

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Speaker 1: programs are funded, but there's work that goes into making

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Speaker 1: those programs happen. There's organization, there's collaboration, these partnerships, there's

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Speaker 1: conversations that need to happen, and it seems like for

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Speaker 1: a long time these guys have just been struggling with

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Speaker 1: us on their own.

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Speaker 3: How has the uptake been, what?

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Speaker 1: What has the response been since you guys launched the

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Speaker 1: first one in twenty twenty year in South Africa.

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Speaker 4: I mean, uptake has been great, and I think even

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Speaker 4: though some of us have worked in civil society for

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Speaker 4: a while, it's all is nice to see new organizations

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Speaker 4: and we welcome new organizations daily in the spaces were

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Speaker 4: we've worked with over hundreds, We host over hundreds of

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Speaker 4: programs in the spaces every year, and we've also introduced

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Speaker 4: a Community Reserve Fund, which allows for communities, organizations, and

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Speaker 4: individuals working around social justice and human rights in areas

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Speaker 4: such as the Cape Flats to be able to come

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Speaker 4: into the space where we provide them on transport, where

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Speaker 4: we provide them with meals for them to be able

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Speaker 4: to put together their programs and to bring people. And

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Speaker 4: also we never talk about the power of taking people

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Speaker 4: outside of the.

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Speaker 2: Community and bringing them.

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Speaker 4: Into a space where they're outside of their normal daily

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Speaker 4: life and they're able to have this conversation in a

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Speaker 4: different space and you know, in a different venue and

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Speaker 4: a fully resourced venue and some.

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Speaker 2: Of us adical hospitality.

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Speaker 4: And if someone asks me, like what excites about your job,

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Speaker 4: and I'm always like, it's the different people that come in.

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Speaker 2: It's walking in and seeing.

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Speaker 4: A table that has a high school student, a university student,

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Speaker 4: a lawyer, you know, someone working in social justice, and

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Speaker 4: how all of those people can sit in one table

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Speaker 4: and do one work. It's been able to have a

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Speaker 4: space where, you know, the school in the nearby high

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Speaker 4: school the gates only open at eight, but they get

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Speaker 4: to moborate at seven. How do we open up our

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Speaker 4: building to make sure they have a six space before

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Speaker 4: and how do we open up our building to make

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Speaker 4: sure that after school, while they wait for the hulf

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Speaker 4: past five bus, they have a space where they can

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Speaker 4: sit and do work, but also not just sit and

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Speaker 4: do work, where we include them in different programs within

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Speaker 4: Better House and also the work that at the retreat

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Speaker 4: we do with the neighboring community, especially with the youth

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Speaker 4: we do, like we have four events that we do

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Speaker 4: with five communities around the Betha Retreat where it's a

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Speaker 4: lot focused around youth development. We do carrier days just

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Speaker 4: to make sure that they understand that they can have

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Speaker 4: access to such spaces. You know, the Great Tolls goes

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Speaker 4: to our retreat and even talking to someone who's booking

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Speaker 4: to come to the retreat and I'm always saying, but no,

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Speaker 4: this is a different kind of retreat because there will

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Speaker 4: be young ones coming to do an art class, there

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Speaker 4: will be metrics coming to do their school projects. And

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Speaker 4: we want our spaces to always have that is that

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Speaker 4: even if you come to our space, know that it's

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Speaker 4: always open to the community.

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Speaker 2: And that's what Redical Hospitality is about, is that.

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Speaker 4: Everyone can come in and everyone can feel like they're

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Speaker 4: part of better Spaces and that it's not just for

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Speaker 4: a select feel, because a lot of spaces feel that way,

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Speaker 4: and a lot and a lot of spaces make other

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Speaker 4: people feel excluded, and that's what we don't want. We

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Speaker 4: want everybody to come in and feel like they're part

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Speaker 4: of the space. So that's the Yeah, who can come?

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Speaker 4: I mean I'm immediately thinking when you speak there. I

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Speaker 4: think there's a lot of things that we take for granted.

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Speaker 4: I have a good friend of mine a has been

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Speaker 4: working in their Nova Park community for decades and they

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Speaker 4: run workshops in there. Yes, and last year I think

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Speaker 4: they had to actually find a different venue at the

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Speaker 4: last minute because obviously gang warfare, that kind of thing,

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Speaker 4: and just having those young women walk to the place.

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Speaker 3: Was an issue.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, And I think these are things that we take

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Speaker 1: for granted when we're not living in these communities and

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Speaker 1: we don't understand.

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Speaker 3: The actual what it's like on the ground. So for

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Speaker 3: people who are listening.

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Speaker 1: Who might be thinking, gosh, where's this place being all

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Speaker 1: my life?

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Speaker 3: Who can come? Who can access?

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Speaker 4: So? Community organizers, community leaders, we have activists, we have artists,

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Speaker 4: we have grassroots organizations can come and use the space.

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Speaker 2: It's up and it is for them. We are this

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Speaker 2: big yellow building in Mobray.

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Speaker 4: But we are just the building if people don't come

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Speaker 4: into the building, and the building comes to life when

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Speaker 4: people use it. And tho are the kind of people

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Speaker 4: we want to see in the space. And people can

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Speaker 4: send us an email and say I have this event

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Speaker 4: that I want to do and as long as it

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Speaker 4: aligns with human rights and social justice issues, you are

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Speaker 4: welcome to come and use our buildings. And like you

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Speaker 4: touched on something about how we take things for granted

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Speaker 4: because some of us have moved away from the communities

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Speaker 4: and therefore we forget what the community is like. And

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Speaker 4: that's why I said earlier, we don't understand the power

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Speaker 4: of moving people away, even if it's for four hours,

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Speaker 4: to move them away from what they used to to

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Speaker 4: a different place where they can think sherely, where they

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Speaker 4: don't have to worry about what might happen in the

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Speaker 4: next four hours or what my journey home might look

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Speaker 4: like if I walk from this community hall home. And

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Speaker 4: also because access to you know, growing up, access to

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Speaker 4: community halls, community halls was the place where people held things.

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Speaker 4: But we can't run away from the fact that that

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Speaker 4: access to community holes has changed in our communities. It's

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Speaker 4: no longer just open for communities to just go in

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Speaker 4: and use. And therefore the third space is that better

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Speaker 4: spaces is those are the spaces that sort of come

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Speaker 4: and say, but here's a space. You can come, you

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Speaker 4: can organize, you can have those conversations, and you can

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Speaker 4: have the uncomfortable conversations that wouldn't necessarily be allowed anywhere else.

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Speaker 4: But also you can meet people that you wouldn't have

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Speaker 4: necessarily met if you were meeting, you know, from from

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Speaker 4: somewhere else. Because we have hundreds of organizations, we have

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Speaker 4: hundreds of people who walk in in and out daily

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Speaker 4: and you don't know who's doing similar work. And we

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Speaker 4: also try through our partners Forum where we bring people

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Speaker 4: that use the space together and we will say, like,

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Speaker 4: what do you have to offer? Who are you, so

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Speaker 4: that people also know who's in the space. But it's

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Speaker 4: also nice that most of the connections that we've seen

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Speaker 4: happen with people just talking to each other, and it's

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Speaker 4: because of the design of the space and because of

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Speaker 4: how we've made sure that the space work. And we

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Speaker 4: don't do that by ourselves, and we always do it

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Speaker 4: in consultation with people that use the space, because we

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Speaker 4: don't know it all, and so on a yearly basis

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Speaker 4: we check in and were like, what do you like

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Speaker 4: about the space? What would you like to see about

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Speaker 4: the space? Because it is a collaboration, were called creating

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Speaker 4: the spaces together. So it's been a great journey of

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Speaker 4: having to do that.

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Speaker 1: We're talking to Timblaana from the Birth of Spaces, who

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Speaker 1: we are highlighting in our Everyday Heroes today talk a

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Speaker 1: little bit to us about.

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Speaker 3: Rest as part of activism. Rest as part of because

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Speaker 3: obviously a.

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Speaker 1: Space to work people can think, yes, that's what I need,

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Speaker 1: but a space to rest.

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Speaker 4: I know, the concept of rest is also a form

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Speaker 4: of activism. You know, people are always looking like, what

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Speaker 4: do you mean? But because we do such difficult work

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Speaker 4: in difficult conditions with very little funding, we don't take

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Speaker 4: the time to actually pause and say, you know, let's

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Speaker 4: look at what we've done, let's let's reward ourselves, let's

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Speaker 4: celebrate the work that we've done, and pause before we

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Speaker 4: start again, because that's important. Nothing comes from you when

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Speaker 4: you are they're tired and you're fatigued, but when you've

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Speaker 4: given yourself that time to just like relax and pause

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Speaker 4: and and that's what the retreat is for. It's to

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Speaker 4: say retreating is expensive, but then how do we come

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Speaker 4: in as better spaces and make sure retreat is is affordable.

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Speaker 4: How do we come in and make sure that grassroots

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Speaker 4: organizations have a space in the islands where they can

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Speaker 4: come and retreat, where they can feel like they're taking

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Speaker 4: up space and they belong. Because also there is that

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Speaker 4: gap of you you're going in and you feel like

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Speaker 4: you don't belong. So even with the design of the

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Speaker 4: spaces we've we've made sure that people come in and

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Speaker 4: they feel like they're at home and and it's in

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Speaker 4: cock create as I use the word cock create previously.

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Speaker 4: It's also making sure that we create with them that

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Speaker 4: when you walk in, it's it's you, it's we don't

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Speaker 4: do the we'll save you Buttterlub will work with each

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Speaker 4: other to make sure that the stay is great so

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Speaker 4: that you also feel like you're part of it and

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Speaker 4: you don't feel like, oh, I don't know what I

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Speaker 4: should do. I don't know if I can you know,

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Speaker 4: can I take the plate there? Can I do this?

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Speaker 4: And that's what the space is for. So it's also

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Speaker 4: it's to allow space for activists and community leaders and

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Speaker 4: organizers to say we're pausing and we're going to the

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Speaker 4: space for three days where we'll look at what we've done.

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Speaker 4: But at the same time, the environment is created for us,

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Speaker 4: even the programming that we put together is created for

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Speaker 4: us where we can just rest and take not and

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Speaker 4: exhale and breathe and do yoga, whatever it is that

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Speaker 4: we need to do to make sure that by the

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Speaker 4: time we go back into our communities or to the

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Speaker 4: work that we do, we are ready and fully refreshed.

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Speaker 1: We are running. I can talk a lot, we are

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Speaker 1: running out of time. I have to just you have

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Speaker 1: to just tell us quickly. There's a concert on the

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Speaker 1: twenty sixth, the Vappral. Is it open to everybody? And

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Speaker 1: do you often have music in the space?

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Speaker 4: Yes, So we host once a year at the Betha

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Speaker 4: Retreat a big concert. It's called the twos and Fours

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Speaker 4: Music Festival. And it also speaks back to activism as

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Speaker 4: a form of rest. We do believe that music is

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Speaker 4: one of the things that we can use to sort

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Speaker 4: of come together and rest. And we're four that happens

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Speaker 4: at beth House and Mobri and then one that happens

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Speaker 4: at beth Retreat and this one on the twenty sixth

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Speaker 4: of April. We have four incredible artists that will be

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Speaker 4: performing at Betha Retreat and tickets are available on web tickets,

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Speaker 4: but we will be on our social media platforms also

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Speaker 4: running competition giving away some tickets. We would love people

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Speaker 4: to come through and enjoy enjoy the space. It's also

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Speaker 4: a chance for us to show people what the space

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Speaker 4: looks like, but also for people to just meet other

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Speaker 4: people and engage with other people as well. There'll be

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Speaker 4: a lot of activists, a lot of young people who

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Speaker 4: are lovers of music, but at the same time are

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Speaker 4: also looking for that time to just zone out and

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Speaker 4: enjoy music and connect.

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Speaker 3: Fantastic