Apartheid marked the beginning of the growth of population of the Cape Flats. 

At first people of mixed racial origin were moved out of Cape Town. Since then rural black people searching (often vainly) for employment have swelled their numbers.

Most people live in overcrowded conditions, many in shacks, and unemployment rates are estimated to be between 50% and 90%.

Housing on the Cape Flats

The terrain is windswept, the soil resembles and often is sea sand; an environment not conducive to cultivation. 

SEED (Schools' Environmental Education and Development), a registered non-profit organisation, has grown out of the harsh Cape Flatsand has focused primarily on primary schools since 1998.  SEED works at transforming learning environments through Permaculture.