Plettenberg Bay is known for its stunning beaches and glitzy holiday homes, but we found a gem of a different kind in Kranshoek on Plett’s Robberg Peninsula. This was a re-visit for The EXPEDITION Project and Phillip navigated the team around to the ongoing projects of Kranshoek.

We were met with a warm welcome at the children’s library, which was filled with books for all ages and in a variety of languages. The librarian mentioned that the outside of the building is sometimes vandalised with graffiti so we brainstormed an idea we picked up from the Valleys and Mountains Development Foundation in Bonnievale where colourful murals have been painted on large wall spaces throughout the town. Maybe this is something that the TEP team could help with on a re-visit. Watch this space!

We walked to the Kranshoek Community Development Centre where they are busy with a number of initiatives, including a vegetable garden and nursery, a youth band which is also linked to life skills learning, and an upholstery workshop for local entrepreneurs. And on the other side of Kranshoek, we popped in to visit with the team at the House of Hope – a local soup kitchen.

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Our plans to join the Masithandane team in their mosaic activities were derailed by the fact that we arrived immediately before the Knysna Oyster Festival, which presents a huge opportunity for the crafters to sell their wares. As such, they were busy getting as much product ready for the market as possible. Our time, however, was not wasted; Lettie and Lisa helped out with some of the tasks that Masithandane said they never seem to get to. They even got fancy and colour-coordinated Masithandane’s stacks of tiles!

For more information about Masithandane, visit http://www.masithandane.org/.

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Our last stop along the Garden Route was to Thanda Jesu where we learned of the huge strides made by this project since it started in October 2012. Inspired by the need to support the impoverished children and families in the local area, Thanda Jesu has grown tremendously such that it now provides a number of community support services, including a unique initiative whereby food parcels are exchanged for time spent packing them. For example, packing 100 food parcels provides an individual with five packages to take home, which is enough to feed a family of six for the week! TEP looks forward to following this project and helping them to network with similar initiatives around the country.

For more information abot Thanda Jesu, visit https://www.facebook.com/pages/Thanda-JESU-Wilderness-Heights/246796315465249.

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The EXPEDITION Project team would like to thank Rose of Sedgefield Tourism and Jacques of Wild News and Wild Infoin Wilderness as well as the following for their generous support along the way:

At the Woods, Storms River

Fynbos Ridge Cottages, Plettenberg Bay

Goukamma Nature Reserve, Cape Nature (Otter’s Rest Lodge), near Sedgefield

Grand Africa, Plettenberg Bay

Pilipili Beach Bar at Myoli Beach in Sedgefield

Buffelsdrift Game Lodge, near Oudtshoorn

The Colony Restaurant at Queens Hotel, Oudsthoorn

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