At the local level, CLP’s work with groups of poor people is focused within KwaZulu-Natal, but it seeks also to support them in connecting to broader movements nationally and internationally. At present it works with people in the following groups, clustered around the following areas of work:

• Livelihood Groups and Mutual Support – CLP works with groups of women facing the harsh consequences of patriarchy and other forms of abuse. These groups were formed to provide mutual support for women, and their own livelihood initiatives have enabled them to retain their sense of empowerment and to challenge gender inequities within their communities. Groups are from rural villages in northern Zululand, e.g. Xoshindlala, Buhlebama Afrika, Thandanani, and Siyawela; other groups are from the south coast of KwaZulu-Natal, e.g. Zamintuthuko, Sodlangobumbano and Sinoxolo.

• Rural Access to Land and Service Provision – CLP connects with groups and communities that continue to struggle to access land as well as proper services in and around KwaZulu-Natal. Currently, these groups include seven groups of farm dwellers on different farms in the province located in areas such as Eston, Vryheid, Utrecht, Jobestown, Roosboom, Muden and uMshwathi; the community of Nsimbakazi which is made up of approximately 500 families, who are insisting on service provision in their area; Rural Network, a formation of approximately seven villages that connects various local struggles against violations of their rights.

• Land Rights Defence and Livelihood – CLP connects with groups of people who have access to land and are resisting their removal from their land and associated livelihoods. These threats of removal are often as a result of the activities of mining companies in their territories. The groups currently include Makhasaneni community in the north coast of KwaZulu-Natal; Bizana in the Eastern Cape.

• Urban Access to Land and Service Provision – CLP connects with Abahlali baseMjondolo (AbM), an autonomous movement of shack dwellers connecting 32 settlements in eThekwini (greater Durban) with an approximate membership of 6 000 members. The movement continues to resist evictions from their settlements, and sustains their struggle for land, housing and dignity. The movement has established connections with settlements in other parts of the country – such as Cape Town (Western Cape), particularly Khayelitsha informal settlement and Mitchells Plein’s Sweethome settlement; Germiston and Protea South (Gauteng).

• Food Production  – CLP connects with groups that are established to produce food together, promoting agro-ecological approaches in response to the destruction by commercial agriculture and the challenges of climate change. These groups include Sekwanele women’s group in KwaNomponjwana, north of KwaZulu-Natal, currently producing from six communal gardens; Tweedie, Coniston, Nkunzi, St Joseph (Foloyi and Zibomvini), and Siyanda B an informal settlement in Durban.