Public policy and small towns in arid South Africa: The case of Philippolis

Van Niekerk, J and Marais, L (2008), Public policy and small towns in arid South Africa: The case of Philippolis (Free State, South Africa), Urban Forum, 19, 363 – 380.   Abstract Internationally and in South Africa, small towns have been subjected to several external factors leading to their decline, with decentralisation processes placing increased…

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Household Food Security and Hunger in Rural and Urban Communities in the Free State Province

Walsh, C, van Rooyen, F (2015), Household Food Security and Hunger in Rural and Urban Communities in the Free State Province, South Africa, Ecology of Food and Nutrition, vol. 54, Issue 2. To purchase this article, click on http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/03670244.2014.964230#.VP2JQek5DIU or request the item via ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/270343362_Household_Food_Security_ and_Hunger_in_Rural_and_Urban_Communities_in_the_Free_State_Province_South_Africa or contact walshcm@ufs.ac.za.   Abstract Household food security…

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Are youth being left to play in the dust?

Williams, G and Atkinson, D (2009), Are youth being left to play in the dust?  An assessment of sports programmes and facilities in a small South African town. Commonwealth Youth and Development, vol. 7(1), pp. 70-84.   Journal can be accessed at: http://reference.sabinet.co.za/document/EJC30887, or contact the author at karoo@intekom.co.za.   Abstract Sport programmes are increasingly…

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Municipal commonage and implications for land reform

Atkinson, D and Buscher, B (2006), “Municipal commonage and implications for land reform: A profile of commonage users in Philippolis, South Africa” , Agrekon, volume 45, no. 4, December 2006.   Abstract This paper reports on a survey of municipal commonage users, which was undertaken in Philippolis in the southern Free State, in May 2005.…

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Emergent farmers, local knowledge and the implications for land reform

It is a curious phenomenon that modern municipalities in the southern provinces of South Africa own vast tracts of agricultural land. This was primarily the case in rural towns in the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Northern Cape and the Free State. Many municipalities inherited public land, called “commonage” or “meentgronde”. In some cases, this land used to be…

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Bethulie case study

Sigenu, K (2007), Bethulie case study. Unpublished report, Centre for Development Studies, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein.   BACKGROUND Bethulie had its origins as a mission station for the displaced San from nearby Philippolis in the mid 1820s. Nowadays it is part of the Kopanong Local Municipality along with eight other towns, i.e. Gariepdam,…

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The Subaru Fauresmith 200 km Challenge

Ingle, Mark (2008), “The Subaru Fauresmith 200 km Challenge: Looking a Gift-horse in the Mouth?”, in Africa Insight, vol. 38, no.3, pp. 86-99.   Abstract This article describes an equestrian sport known as ‘endurance riding.’ It focuses on the Subaru Fauresmith 200km Challenge, which is held every year in the small southern Free State town…

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