Local Experience Economy
Experience-based income values moments over possessions. Simple, well-designed local activities can create memorable connections while providing meaningful earnings without large infrastructure.
Stand where a 1950s cinema stood, hear oral history via QR — past made present.
45-minute visits to local potters, woodworkers, bakers — craft demystified.
Learn fire-building, meat selection, sauce secrets — wisdom from the fire.
Beach walk → carve spoons or mobiles — coast as classroom.
Access private backyard oases normally unseen — green generosity shared.
Guided listening to birds, vendors, trains, silence — ears as eyes.
Walk route with voice stories of unsung community figures — history humanised.
Capture soft light, learn phone photography — see anew.
Vetkoek, gatsby, bunny chow with vendor storytelling — taste as heritage.
Explore boundary art, murals, and what they reveal — walls that speak.
Elders share tales from covered verandas during storms — oral history preserved.
Decode alarm calls, feeding chatter in local green belts — nature in conversation.
Use outages as opportunity for night sky connection — dark as gift.
Observe cultural clues in how people hang clothes (yes, really) — laundry as language.
Urban homesteading in action — learn from neighbours.
Decode meaning of street names in isiZulu, Afrikaans, etc. — language as landscape.
Fire-side talks on community, patience, sharing — wisdom around flame.
Spend 2 hours helping pack, sell, serve — empathy through participation.
Learn informal social networks via front-yard chats — community decoded.
Listen to old factories, rail lines, mines with audio overlay — echoes of labour.
Residents draw personal landmarks on communal map — space made personal.
Sift safe soil for “artifacts” (pre-placed historical replicas) — history hands-on.
Group gathers in park, no talking, just presence — shared stillness.
Visit elders to document disappearing dishes — culinary heritage saved.
Focus on how air moves through streets, trees, canyons — feel the invisible.
Residents bring photos/objects, get digitised on-site — memory made permanent.
Short read + discussion around fire — words and warmth.
Learn species, history, care for urban canopy — trees as community members.
Follow storm drains, rivers, taps to understand local hydrology — water’s journey.
Decode symbols, slogans, resilience in murals — art as resistance.
Magnifying glasses, bug hotels, leaf rubbings — science in the soil.
Artists open doors for casual “how do you make that?” — craft demystified.
Playful reimagining of ordinary spaces — imagination as public service.
Try artisan tools, talk to makers — skill sharing made tangible.
“If the hadeda calls at noon…” — ancestral knowledge alive.
Design dream park with recycled materials — cities shaped by youth.
Help parents choose meaningful names with elder input — identity rooted.
Stories told while meat cooks — tradition as shared experience.
Bring one dish, take home 5 recipes — food as connection.
Under corrugated iron, canvas, leaves — no talking, just presence.
Southern Cross myths under open sky — cosmos as cultural map.
Fill with local sand, leaf, note; seal for future — time capsules for kids.
Light discussion on big questions, simple snacks — wisdom in simplicity.
3 songs + 15-min Q&A on craft — art as conversation.
Peek into front yards with permission, learn plant stories — green generosity.
60 mins silent, phone locked in box, sit under tree — presence restored.
Identify local plants, make simple remedies — nature as pharmacy.
Capture gate creaks, kettle whistles, roosters; take home audio — sonic memory.
Sit where someone once waited, loved, mourned; share stories — rest with meaning.
Parents share songs, learn each other’s traditions — lullabies as language.
Explore faded shop names, old ads, painted bricks — layers of local commerce.