The Growth Interface: Community based cannabis processing facility in the rural Eastern Cape

Abstract

The cannabis industry is developing rapidly worldwide, and in the context of recent legal developments South Africa is on the brink of exploiting it as a new local industry on a large scale. With the biggest potential for the industry lying in the Western and Eastern Cape provinces, the greatest social impact will likely be in the latter due to its underdeveloped nature and current lack of large-scale agricultural operations. This, in conjunction with the ongoing construction of a major new road, puts the local population at risk of economic neo-colonialism. This project is an interrogation of the implications that the cannabis industry represents, not only to the South African built environment but also the rural communities of the Eastern Cape. It proposes a spatial solution rooted in the mediation between disparate informants and stakeholders, and ultimately to equip local communities with the infrastructure necessary to compete in and establish resilience through this new market.