A homeless man has transformed a patch of land wedged between a busy freeway and a stream into a thriving roadside nursery in one of the most prestigious suburbs in Cape Town.
Alex Paul, 38, from Blantyre, Malawi, has lived on the strip of land along the M3 in Constantia for the past two years after falling on hard times when he lost his job in construction.
Paul, who lives in a plastic shack, established a small nursery filled with vegetables and flowers — and now makes a limited income from it.
Paul said he had salvaged everything in the nursery — plants, flowerpots, garden gnomes and wooden structures — from rubbish bins. He uses water from the stream and passers-by, including cyclists and walkers, often stop to admire his handiwork. Some buy his plants.
I sell an aloe for between R150 and R400. That is the most expensive. I also have roses. I get one customer per week. The money is little, but I can’t complain. I don’t even know the names of some of the plants but I just love the environment
— Alex Paul
“I have been in South Africa for 10 years. I had a job and then I lost it. I worked in construction,” he said.
He grows spinach, lettuce, sweet potatoes, flowers and other plants, but mostly sells the flowers. He does not know the names of many of the plants he grows.
“I pick up the pots from the bins in the community. I also get branches [cuttings] from the bins and plant them. I don’t buy anything. I picked up everything you see here,” he said.
Despite his poverty, he says he has found a sense of peace.
“I’ve been staying here for about two years. This was a bush. I put some bags there, filled them with soil, to close a gaping hole next to the stream so that I could start the nursery. All those trees were not there,” he said.
“I made the bridge. Workers were fixing another bridge on the other side. I picked up the wood offcuts and made my own bridge.”
He said settling in wasn’t easy. He clashed with law enforcement officers, who frequently removed his structures. “Law enforcement officers used to bother me. But they really like what I’m doing now. This is my third shack,” he said.
“A security guard from Constantia came and said I can continue with what I am doing.”
Paul said he walks to a nearby garage to ask for drinking water. Although he does not know the botanical names of many of his plants, he has discovered that aloes are sought after.
“I sell an aloe for between R150 and R400. That is the most expensive. I also have roses,” he said. “I get one customer per week. The money is little but I can’t complain. I don’t even know the names of some of the plants. But I just love the environment.”
John McPetrie, chair of the Constantia Ratepayers & Residents Association, said the group had no policy regarding informal initiatives such as the nursery.
“In view of the position these folk have chosen, my first response is to express concern for their safety — indeed, for anyone living close to the M3,” said McPetrie. “I find it difficult to understand how anyone ... could support such a position for a nursery or ‘residence’.”
Ward councillor Emile Langenhoven praised Paul for showing “resilience and the desire to build a dignified life”. The city owns the land in question.
“While the use of public land raises important questions, I believe efforts like [this] should be viewed through a developmental lens, not a punitive one. When such activities are safe, constructive and community-minded, they represent an opportunity to transition individuals away from dependency and into self-reliance,” said Langenhoven.
“I fully understand residents’ concerns about safety, aesthetics, and the responsible use of public space,” he said. “However, homelessness is not simply a policing issue, it is a developmental, economic and social one. Our approach must be rooted in long-term reintegration, where we support people to move from crisis to stability, not just relocate the visible problem elsewhere. Respectful engagement, meaningful interventions, and ongoing support are critical.”
Langenhoven said he planned to launch a “homeless alliance” next month that would unite local government, NGOs and community-based organisations to improve collaboration. He said the issue of informal trading also “requires a complete rethink”.
“While informal enterprises often emerge out of necessity, it cannot be that someone remains an informal trader for 20 to 30 years,” he said. “I am passionate about creating developmental programmes that help informal traders formalise over time, equipping them with the tools, training, and access to markets and compliance support needed to operate in the formal economy.
“We need policies that support growth, not just regulation, especially when the entrepreneurial spark already exists.”
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