Residents of Lochiel Smallholdings are turning to music to protect the place they call home, using a heartfelt song to remind the city what true community looks like.
South Africa (27 October 2025) – In Cape Town’s Far South, a heartfelt song has become the soundtrack of a community’s fight to stay rooted. At the Lochiel Smallholdings, a vibrant, multicultural pocket of farms, nurseries, and family homes bordering Masiphumelele, residents are using music to tell their story and make their plea heard.
In a video shared by Heart and Soil Homestead, a young man sings with hopes of saving his community:
“They try to hand me money, but they won’t comprehend, this has been my home since I remember. Got some words on cardboard and I’ll write a petition, to make us stay… we’re not moving.”
The song is powerful as it captures a sentiment that words alone could not, and that is belonging. For decades, the Lochiel Smallholdings have been more than land, they have been a living example of integration. Families from different backgrounds live side by side, turning waste into food, creating jobs, and nurturing a thriving local economy.
It’s a different kind of protest. Just people fighting for their community with art. And calling on other community members to help sign a petition.
But now, residents say this rare harmony is under threat. The City of Cape Town’s Local Spatial Development Framework proposes acquiring several properties in the area to create new housing for nearby residents of Masiphumelele. While the city calls it “expansion,” many locals fear it could dismantle what has been built over generations.
Still, instead of meeting frustration with anger, the community has turned to creativity. Their song has drawn empathy and attention. The people of Lochiel are asking to be part of it.
The lyrics echo the values that define the place: resilience, collaboration, and deep pride in their home. Behind every verse is are various stories. From the farmer who grows food to a teacher who nurtures the next generation.
And whether or not policies change overnight, the song has already grabbed attention, and turned a small community’s voice into something impossible to ignore.
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