Isabella Schmidt

Isabella Schmidt is a Cape Town journalist who chronicles the city’s evolving food culture, from Bo-Kaap spice merchants to Khayelitsha microbreweries. Raised hiking the trails that link Table Mountain to the Cape Flats, she brings the flavours and voices of her hometown to global readers with equal parts rigour and heart.

Western Cape’s €97 500 Digital Twin Spark: From Tallinn Code to Cape Town Concrete

{"summary": "The Western Cape is building a \"digital twin\" of its public buildings and roads. This means creating a live,…

1 day ago

Silent Sappers: How a Pin-Sized Beetle Is Redrawing Cape Town’s Skyline

A tiny, pinsized beetle is slowly killing Cape Town's trees. This beetle digs into trees and introduces a deadly fungus…

2 days ago

Tap, Track, Taste: How South Africans Turned a Delivery App into a National Ritual

Uber Eats has completely changed how South Africans eat, becoming a daily habit for many. It's more than just ordering…

3 days ago

Cape Town’s December Treasure Trail: A Month-Long Safari of Makers, Flavours and Micro-Economies

Cape Town's December markets are a vibrant, monthlong celebration, transforming the city into a giant adventure. From mountain hamlets to…

4 days ago

Cape Town’s December Detonation: 7 Days That Will Reset Your Pulse

Cape Town is bursting with excitement from December 16th to 22nd! You can groove at Greenmarket Square for Reconciliation Day,…

4 days ago

A Morning in the Mother City’s Liquid Heart: Six Hours Inside Cape Town’s Two Oceans Aquarium

Step into Cape Town's Two Oceans Aquarium and dive into an amazing underwater world! Imagine penguins doing acrobatics and funny…

1 week ago

From Hospital to Horizon: Four Turtles Reclaim the Indian Ocean

Four brave turtles, Nori, Stella, Pebbles, and Cinnamon, who were once very sick, are now back in the big, blue…

1 week ago

Western Cape’s Vaccine Defenders Fight to Close a Five-Year Immunity Gap

{"summary": "Children in the Western Cape are facing a scary immunity gap, meaning many are not getting their important vaccines.…

1 week ago

Western Cape 2025/26 Summer Readiness Initiative

The Western Cape is getting ready for summer 2025/26 with a big plan to keep everyone safe. They're watching out…

1 week ago

Woodstock 2.0: How Cape Town Is Re-Writing Africa’s Gentrification Playbook on 11 Hectares of Public Dirt

Cape Town is changing how cities grow. They're turning 11 hectares of land in Woodstock into a cool new neighborhood.…

1 week ago

Cape Town’s Festive-Season Squeeze: A City Rebuilds Its Safety Net One Car at a Time

Cape Town is getting tough on road safety this holiday season! They're setting up mobile checkpoints with fancy tech to…

1 week ago

Night Flames Over Langa: Two Fires, Twenty-Five Shacks, Four Coffins

Two terrible fires ripped through Langa, leaving a trail of ash and sorrow. The first blaze erupted in Siyahlala in…

1 week ago

South Africa Shines on the Global Cheese Stage

South African cheesemakers dazzled at the 2025 World Cheese Awards in Switzerland! They won many shiny medals, including two top…

2 weeks ago

Renewing the Mozambique-South Africa Partnership: Highlights from the 4th Bi-National Commission

Mozambique and South Africa just held their 4th big meeting, the BiNational Commission, in Maputo. Their leaders, Presidents Ramaphosa and…

2 weeks ago

Cape Town’s Identikidz Initiative: Safeguarding Children at the Beach

Cape Town's "Identikidz" is a super cool beach safety plan! When families visit the beach, kids get special wristbands with…

2 weeks ago

Honoring Cape Town’s Disaster Risk Champions: The Power of Commitment

Cape Town celebrates its amazing volunteers who help during emergencies. These special awards thank people and groups for keeping the…

2 weeks ago