A recent study conducted by the Department of Housing & Development in Gauteng (South Africa’s most economically active province revealed the following:

•    There are 405 informal settlements in Gauteng housing 500 000 families. (105 of these settlements are officially recognised)
•    89% of those families earn less than R1000.00 per month

Called by many names; townships, informal settlements, or squatter camps, they are an integral part of South African life, both in rural and urban areas. A collection of ramshackled structures made of corrugated iron, cardboard, wood, fencing, whatever can be found to create a home. The roads between the shacks are better described as worn pathways, some too small for a vehicle to pass, others wider with space for vehicles and informal trade to mingle with playing children. R.D.P. (Reconstruction and Development) housing projects are interspersed with the shack-lands, where the government has built small brick houses, which will ideally and ultimately house all of South Africa’s homeless. Amongst the shacks; schools, clinics, churches or missions, spaza shops, shabeens and taverns are found. The services that are usually conspicuously missing are police stations, post offices, and health outlets (apart from clinics, which dispense medicine and traditional healers).

The interior of most shacks are dark and stuffy, leaky in summer and draughty in winter when the paraffin stoves used for cooking and warmth far too often lead to fires, unable to be contained before spreading fast and far and with tragic consequences. These conditions are totally unsuitable for people living with compromised respiratory diseases such as those that are the symptoms of HIV/AIDS.

The schools range from well organised, usually under the strong leadership of a dedicated principal, to mis-managed and under-resourced. The clinics can be described in much the same way as the schools and are often treated with suspicion by local residents. The churches and missions are responsible for employment programmes, HIV programmes, skills-development programmes and often also house clinics or schools.

Informal trade is done from spaza shops, which are general dealer stores set up inside shacks, caravans, under gazebos or trees, or in containers. In the same way, hairdressing services, telephonic services and clothing are sold. Shabeens and taverns are bottle stores and restaurants.

Business is usually quiet during the daytime on weekdays, as most people who are employed and most children who are in school are not available as consumers. Children are often responsible for the shopping as their parent’s work, and it is becoming more and more common as AIDS spreads, that children are required to look after sick parents, run the household and look after siblings. Some of those who are unemployed and out of school occupy their time causing the social problems that plague these communities such as rape, child abuse and an assortment of other criminal activities.

In the evenings and on weekends, the streets come alive with people shopping, trading and visiting each other. Music blares, cars are washed and children use the streets as their playground. Township life is truly community based living, and it is this quality that makes this physically challenging environment, a special one.

The Spaza shop is often a central area for residents who generally do not have refrigerators, and must purchase food daily basis. It is the Spaza shop’s central position in a community that makes it a perfect point to distribute health products and indeed even as a place to distribute information and knowledge.

THE CREATION OF HEALTH SPAZAS

With the above scenario in mind, Fevertree has initiated a concept into the townships of a rather unique type of Spaza shop. The main aim of the Health Spaza is to start as it were, health shops like the health stores you find in more affluent areas of the city. Many of these health shop owners have told us that they are increasingly seeing township dwellers who prefer to come through there doors with minor ailments as the advice is free and the products are affordable (well some of them at any rate). I am sure that the rich and poor both can agree on the fact that a visit to a medical practitioner is costly, as is a visit to a Sangoma or traditional healer.

The Health Spaza saves the township dweller the trip into a shopping centre. On their own doorsteps, they now have available a shop (or a container, or a gazebo) that caters for the minor ailments we all suffer from such as flu in winter, the twinge of arthritis, blood cleansing teas, water cleansers and a biggie – male potency. Products sold, have been carefully selected according to a set of criteria, which include market related pricing and the all-important fact the products must be natural and good for our consumers.

To say that the shop is truly a health Spaza, or even to say that Fevertree as a company has any claims on it is not entirely true. The ownership of the Health Spazas is in the hands of local township dwellers. Fevertree’s role is to assist them to set up the business and give them the required training to operate as a small business and as health product consultants. As it is a new idea, and in the world of new ideas, people are usually a slow species to catch on, the Health Spaza has diversified itself to the extent that it is also a Photo Spaza, taking ID photos, licence photos, and photographs for all occasions. This diversity is the hallmark of the Fevertree spaza business model. Strangely enough the two odd bed fellows, photography and health products seem to complement each other well, at times the photography drawing customers to both sides of the business, and sometimes the health products attracting customers. Other products to be added soon are milk and other essential food products that continue offer the health giving benefits that was part of the motivation for the business from the start.

The scope of the spaza business model also includes for new and innovative products and services, for instance we have identified an awareness and need for solar power. Another issue worth exploring is the need for good quality fruit and vegetables. We anticipate that other ideas will surface in time, and we would like to encourage our readers to submit ideas to us (1 million brains are far better than two or three). To submit and idea e-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it and write “new ideas” in the subject column.