01 Jun '22

Feeling at home in the Rand

4508
door Koen Demarsin
The area is jam-packed with stories. Not only stories of yesteryear, but also stories from the present day. The region is constantly changing and evolving and always struggling to find itself. We are seeking to discover what being the Rand actually means.

'Johan Buytaert from Randatlas, will be travelling through the Rand for the next two years in the company of a tent and a team of reconnaissance workers. Alsemberg will be the first stop. ‘Using the tent as a base camp, we will set off on an expedition through the various neighbourhoods. Residents are welcome to join the expedition focused on their villages and each other’s stories’, says Buytaert. ‘The Randatlas project is primarily about the people who live there now. We are also keen to bring them together so as to get a better idea of what the Rand looks like nowadays and to help people to feel more at home in their neighbourhood. By the time we have finished our task, we should be able to produce a real atlas filled with stories from all the districts we have visited.’