Anselm Sauls and Fozia Kammies have made their home on the slopes of Table Mountain in Cape Town for 11 years, choosing the natural shelter over urban dangers. They describe the mountain as a protective space that teaches humility and awareness. Their story highlights a deliberate escape from city shelters and hardships.
Anselm Sauls and Fozia Kammies have lived in a hollow beneath thick bushes on Table Mountain for 11 years. Their shelter sits behind a fallen log near a small stream, a spot they say revealed itself to them. Anselm states, “The mountain protects you. The city is dangerous. Here, if you come with an open heart, nature will teach you, not klap you.” Fozia adds, “Your ears open here. You can sleep, but you hear everything.”
Anselm, born in East London and raised in Mitchells Plain, learned trades like vinyl flooring, electrical wiring, and plumbing. He worked in shelters from 2010, fixing cameras and navigating internal politics. The couple once tried life in Johannesburg but walked back to Cape Town along the N1 highway, a journey of over 1,000 km that took more than two weeks. Fozia recalls, “My feet were finished, but we made it.”
Fozia was born in 1974 in District Six, the year demolitions began under apartheid. She grew up in Scottsville, spent time on Sea Point beach, and entered shelters where she built skills and routines. They met while working on Expanded Public Works Programme projects in Brackenfell. During Covid-19, Anselm spent nearly three months in the Strandfontein homeless camp, describing it as overwhelming: “Imagine a guy who struggles for one meal a day... Now you put him in a tent with 1,000 people and feed him six times a day. So of course he eats... and eats. Then he gets sick, really badly sick.”
Their routine starts at 4 or 5 a.m. with birdsong. They descend to the city to hustle, carrying boxes, helping with tasks, and earning small payments. People in the neighborhood recognize and trust them. They shower twice weekly at a Woodstock facility and share food when possible. Cape Town's streets feel unsafe, with risks of attacks, while the mountain demands constant awareness against snakes, scorpions, storms, and rangers who occasionally evict them.
They report hearing ghosts, like old washerwomen singing by the river. Fozia says, “They look after us.” The mountain teaches calmness, awareness, and humility, Anselm explains: “If you come here with anger or wildness from the city, nature will smack you. But if you come humble, nature teaches.” They live moment to moment, avoiding long-term plans.
If offered stable housing, Fozia would seek work with children, and Anselm dreams of being a barista to motivate others. Recently, they were evicted from their spot, leaving only a paper angel behind. Despite searches, their whereabouts remain unknown.