Rising above crime amid the South Africa World Cup
| Cape Town, South Africa
鈥� A local, slice-of-life story from a Monitor correspondent.
Fed up with being burgled, entrepreneur Jelle Mijlof decided to combat crime by designing and building his own thiefproof house. The result was a curious-looking, goblet-shaped family home with stunning views over Cape Town and something quite rare in South Africa: no alarms, electric fencing, or security beams.
In South Africa鈥檚 Western Cape Province, there were 42,920 burglaries at residential properties between April 2008 and March 2009. While neighbors have been robbed during the 10 years since this house was built, Jelle and his wife, Eileen, say they鈥檝e enjoyed a crime-free existence in the Higgovale suburb at the foot of Table Mountain.
Standing in the driveway Eileen says, 鈥淎s you can see from the design, you鈥檇 need to be Spider-Man or a pole-vaulter to get in. It鈥檚 like a fortress.鈥�
Jelle came up with the idea after watching squirrels and birds sitting in trees. 鈥淭hey moved around freely and knew they couldn鈥檛 be attacked in the safety of the tree. I thought if I could build something similar we鈥檇 have a peaceful life.鈥�
The couple say they lost count of the number of times they were burgled at various addresses in Cape Town, including a hotel they once owned, although none were violent.
Looking precarious on top of a garage, the two-story building is supported by foundations 20 feet deep and 10 feet wide by 40 feet long containing more than 90 cubic yards of concrete. Jelle used 13 tons of steel, enabling the house to withstand a magnitude-8 earthquake. The only way in is via the garage or a side door and the first floor is nearly 50 feet above ground level. The couple are now selling it for around $1.5 million to move an hour away to the whale-watching town of Hermanus.
鈥淲e鈥檝e always felt totally safe in the house and not many South Africans can say that,鈥� says Eileen. 鈥淎nyone who buys it will be buying peace of mind.鈥�
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