Sedgefield, a holiday hamlet between George and Knysna in the southern Cape, has never been more than a sleepy village with nice beaches, a few shops and a main road. However, Sedgefield is now officially South Africa’s first Cittaslow or ‘Slow City.
According to Sedgefield resident Andre Gauche, the ‘Slow City’ was inspired by the ‘Slow Food’ concept and Cittaslow was now a worldwide organisation aimed at promoting quality of life and resisting the need for life-in-the-fast-lane.
The first Cittaslow originated in Italy in 1999 and there are now about 100 towns in the world registered as ‘Slow Towns’.
“Registered Cittaslow towns celebrate diversity of cultures, promote the specialties of their people and surroundings and abide by these values,” Gauche says. “Slow Towns look after their people, their visitors and their environment,” he adds.
He says that Slow Town residents make a commitment to strive towards the kind of improvements in the town that will benefit the community.
Cittaslow towns are not allowed to have a population of more than 50 000 people and Gauche says that Sedgefield’s unlikely to ever reach that number as the population is not expected to ever be more than about 15 000.
In order to be recognised as a member of the Cittaslow community, a town must adhere to 50 goals and principles that are set down for accreditation.
“Some of the qualities that motivated Sedgefield’s Slow Town accreditation included its successful farmers’ and crafters’ markets, strong adventure and outdoor tourism attractions and several community upliftment programmes,” he says.
Gauche says that Sedgefield is the headquarters of the Slow Town movement in Africa and would set itself up as an example for other towns wanting to join the Cittaslow organisation.
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