Co-creating a pedagogy of care for our hydrocommons in South Africa
Authors:   , Martin Aaniyah 
Published: December 2024

My research focuses on watery relations in a South African context. Our planet, predominantly covered by water, relies on healthy oceans to sustain life by producing oxygen. Oceans, rivers, and wetlands constitute our natural water resources, integral to the hydrological cycle, collectively forming what Neimanis (2009) terms as hydrocommons. Hydrocommons encompass the shared water bodies and resources vital for human and more-than-human inhabitants alike. Caring for our hydrocommons is imperative for the well-being of the planet and all its inhabitants. Yet, the notion of responsibility for their upkeep sparks debate, as it intertwines with concepts of justice, extensively explored in academic discourse (Bozalek & Zembylas 2023). In South Africa, historical patterns of privilege tied to skin colour significantly influence perceptions of responsibility and care. This doctoral research engages with the enduring impacts of the apartheid legacy, which continues to shape notions of belonging, especially for Black and Brown South Africans who were forcibly displaced and restricted from accessing various areas, including urban spaces and natural environments such as beaches and game reserves. My perspective stems from my background as a scientist in the conservation field for over two decades, and transitioning into an educational doctorate with an emphasis on feminist, posthumanist, and care frameworks to address environmental and social justice concerns. Furthermore, I am a Brown Creole woman who was raised as a Muslim in Camissa, South Africa. The overarching question this dissertation seeks to address is; How can reparative care pedagogies reshape the hydrocommons for Black and Brown communities in post-apartheid South Africa? In order to respond to this question, I think diffractively with theory from feminism(s), posthumanism, research-creation and Slow scholarship - all of these are predicated on relational ontologies which embrace diverse ways of knowledge production in caring and meaning-making ways (Springgay & Truman, 2018; Stengers, 2011; Taylor et al, 2020). The research question I have posed is addressed through two key methods of enquiry namely strandlooping (beach walking) and hydro-rugging (stitching and mending). While there has been some literature on walking and mending methodologies from Northern contexts, I have opted to contextualise them within a South African framework with indigenous origins. By developing such methodologies in the local context, I aim to understand their application and relevance within South Africa's diverse cultural and environmental landscape. I have deliberately incorporated indigenous perspectives and practices in order to contribute to a more holistic and nuanced exploration of watery relations through iterative and collaborative events with participants. Chapter One provides an overview of my positionality and research practice by giving voice to those who have been marginalised, silenced and erased for three decades. The 30th anniversary for our first democratic elections was celebrated on the 27th April 2024 whilst I have been finalising my manuscript. The silence and erasure persist today, even though apartheid laws and regulations are no longer in effect. This lingering silence continues to permeate our lives and linger as a haunting presence. Consequently, strandlooping and hydro-rugging emerge as methods of enquiry that foster and provide avenues for care and healing. Chapter Two shares the stories of four Brown bodies and a tidal pool each of whom have a relationship with False Bay. The chapter shows how watery stories are shared through the process of hydro-rugging at the tidal pools. Chapter Three unravels the practice of strandlooping and develops propositions or watermarks to assist other researchers with this practice in their own contexts. Chapter Four articulates hydro-rugging as a method of enquiry and elucidates how the individual hydro-rugs are stitched alongside each other to create the Mother Hydro-rug. Chapter Five introduces three experiential research-creation events with fourth year students to meander and learn from them with regards to care for our hydrocommons. Drawing on relational ways of understanding and engaging with the world, this research culminates in several key implications for reparative care pedagogies in reshaping the hydrocommons. It underscores the importance of not only acknowledging but including diverse modes of knowledge and existence, particularly within Black and Brown communities marginalised by apartheid's racial and ethnic divisions. Additionally, it highlights the significance of challenging traditional educational paradigms entrenched in colonial and apartheid legacies. By prioritising embodied, experiential, and inclusive methodologies, the doctoral thesis advocates for a pedagogical shift toward relationality and process-oriented learning. This thesis prompts a reevaluation of extractive and exploitative educational practices, advocating instead for conviviality and the exploration of relational and embodied meanings and approaches.