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Lubabalo Mbontsi, Product Owner
 


eKasi Backpackers

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Capetonians of a certain age can remember a time when there was no Khayelitsha.

Today the township is home to more than 1 million people but Khayelitsha is barely a quarter of a century old. In the early 1980s African people streamed into Cape Town in their hundreds of thousands, erecting shacks and proclaiming their arrival. In 1983 Khayelitsha formally came into being on the sandy Cape Flats.

Luba Mbontsi is just 33 years old, a Xhosa lad who grew up in the Eastern Cape hamlet of Hofmeyr, moved with his family to present-day Khayelitsha and still recalls the days when little more than the Port Jackson Willow, an imported weed, carpeted this part of the flatlands between Cape Town proper and the Winelands of the Western Cape.

A trained computer programmer who attended SACS (South Africa’s oldest, previously whites-only school), Luba is a Khayelitsha devotee. “This is South Africa’s second biggest township, and the biggest in the Western Cape,” says Luba. “There is lots of unemployment but there are also many people who are getting up and trying to make things happen. Things are really happening in Khayelitsha.”

Cape Town’s modern highways mean that Khayelitsha is no more than 15 to 20 minutes from the “Mother City” but to many in Cape Town the township is half a world away. So much the better for the mostly 20- to 30-year-old adventure-seekers who make up the bulk of Ekasie’s clientele. “They’re people looking for the vibe, looking for adventure. They come from Holland, the US, Belgium, France and some from the UK,” explains Luba, adding that fully 50% of guests are South African. “Wherever they’re from, they’re people looking for a unique township experience; they want to interact with the people and they want to experience their lives.”

Ekasia, on Benyano Crescent, can sleep 20 in six bedrooms. Each spotless room is named after a particular South African township: there is, for instance, the Soweto, Mndantsane and KwaMashu rooms.

Rates start from as little as R90, up to R185 per person sharing in the upstairs, upmarket bedroom, including breakfast. Ever the keen-eyed entrepreneur, Luba and his wife Noma welcome “VIP church guests”, TV gospel stars and corporate groups visiting Khayelitsha for team-building events. The couple and their staff produce traditional English breakfasts plus African fare for the more adventurous. Lunches and dinners are cooked to guest requirements. There is a bar and braaivleis and pool areas for young people wanting to let their hair down in informal surroundings.

A big part of Ekasia’s business is its walkabout tours of the township. These typically take in the nearby craft market, Lookout Hill (Khayelitsha’s only noteworthy point of elevation), and a local shebeen or two. How long do the tours last? Luba isn’t willing to commit himself to an answer to that question. “You can’t predict how long a Khayelitsha tour is going to take,” he explains. “People are really friendly; the place is very safe and our guests just get sidetracked, having fun and meeting the locals. It’s really up to them how long the tour takes.”

And where does he see the business going? “I see it growing with the community,” he grins. “We take people to orphanages, if they wish; we take them to the markets and the shebeens. The beaches - great beaches like Monwabisi – are just five minutes away. We outsource our drive tours and we hire bicycles from a local business. We have some old people on our street; storytellers, who come to us to tell our guests the history of Khayelitsha. As we grow, we want to play a small part in growing our community.”

Becoming an Eteya (Emerging Tourism Entrepreneur) finalist has been a huge boost for Ekasia, says Luba. “Thanks to this award the big tour operators are starting to realise that we are a serious player; that we’re not a fly-by-night and that we have a unique, quality offering.”
Recently Luba attended the IT Berlin travel trade show, an event which, he admits, would have been beyond eKasie’s means without the support of TEP. “I can honestly say that, of all the small-business development agencies, TEP has always been number one. From the word go, they have helped up with our marketing. Perhaps best of all, it doesn’t take forever to get projects approved by TEP. They visit you, they appraise your needs and identify areas where they can help. They’re incredibly proactive.”
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