CAMISSA - the Khoi name for Cape Town, meaning 'the place of sweet waters' – embedded and lost within the city's fabric, this vital ecological & cultural link still exists. South Africa's transition to modernity took place when the sweet waters flowing from Table Mountain were recognised for their capacity to support life and sustain livelihoods. It is the very reason for settlement at the Cape an
d thus, central to understanding and appreciating the natural and cultural history - as it flows between two World Heritage sites: Table Mountain and Robben Island. As such, it is an authentic illustration of the evolution of the Earth and the origin of life from 240-million years ago to the present.
'CAMISSA is a hydrological sub-system of the Table Mountain Aquifer, part of the Table Valley Catchment Area and contains 32 perennial artesian springs of which, just 5 yield 5.9mil litres of Water daily. It is a unique system of ecological and historical significance supporting a cultural landscape - the manifestation of centuries of interaction between people and their natural environment. As an interactive ecology, it reveals a tense relationship between humankind, land and Water at the frontier of our modern nation. This Water is a symbol of the many trials and tribulations that accompanied the transition to modernity: the displacement of first nation users, the disparity in society that arises when the privileged are given preferential access, and the subsequent abuse of a resource to the point of collapse, draining of the Mother City’s vital natural source via subterranean tunnels to the ocean, in favour of unencumbered city building. It is, therefore, fitting both symbolically and practically that it should also be the focus of our next transition, to an ecologically balanced city, equitable and resilient as CAMISSA has the capacity to link the past with the present so that we can develop a better model for the future. RECLAIM CAMISSA, a registered NGO was established to provide a stewardship for the waters that flow from Table Mountain to the ocean, by informing the public, raising awareness, promoting leading edge research and design; and raising funds and sponsorship for implementation. The main aim was to reclaim Cape Town’s central city connection to the Water, ensuring that the public is enabled to enjoy the right to this Water; and that the Water remain in good ecological health. We have learned that in revealing the intrinsic value of Water and land to society and those who manage public assets, emphasis is placed on their scarcity and therefore sustainability, rather than their economic value alone – which is why available resources, such as the spring systems of the GCTMA have been trapped in the modernisation and commoditisation of land in Cape Town. It is without a doubt that the organisation’s original vision "...that one day, the people of Cape Town will gather around our common heritage of CAMISSA - the very waters that defined the location of the city, reflecting the public past and embracing a new civic infrastructure, inspired by a deliberate recognition and respect for the social, cultural and ecological significance of this Water; and thus linking the past with the present, to develop a different model for our future, by connecting people to this vital resource, we could celebrate the Water that links mountain to sea, past to future, and people to the environment..." adds value beyond the physical limits of economic growth in the narrow, consumptive sense, but rather in a broader qualitative sense. CAMISSA thus, has the capacity to be the focus of the city’s transition into reflexive modernity.
