OUTREACH
For The Community
#TakeBackOurTown Initiative
Hartbeespoort is a popular town, known for its beauty, tourism and colourful cultural experiences. Whether you are young, or old, live far or near, Harties is the heart just outside of the buzz and rush of the city. Unfortunately, with time, the town took a few knocks in its ‘self-care’ department, and things started snowballing backwards. Uncooperative municipalities, long-lasting COVID effects, miserable angry residents, dangerous infrastructure due to lack of maintenance, struggling businesses, wood poachers and illegal roadside vendors became the norm. The list grew endlessly as we investigated deeper.
The Harties/Brits Rotary Club inspired an initiative in a mass clean-up around Hartbeespoort, their main focus was to clean up the dam and to fix certain areas of infrastructure that served as a major risk to tourists and by-passers. Xanadu Nature Estate became involved with the WESSA-driven project, with a focus on the Saartjies Neck entrance to Hartbeespoort. As it serves to be the first area that is seen by the public, tourists and very well everyone entering the town, the importance of cleaning up and maintaining the main road was striking.
Xanadu approached each business starting from Ox Wagon Lodge, all the way through to just before Hoerskool Hartbeespoort, via hand-delivered letters, emails and phone calls to raise awareness and get involvement from the neighbours. Meetings were held, and the enthusiasm for this newfound initiative suddenly grew stronger, this was no longer just a clean-up, this was change. It became clear that if each individual and business along the main road maintained the little piece of land that we refer to as their ‘doorstep’ the impact and difference in the town would be astounding.
Today, we strive to implement a plan of action, where the vision is to add dustbins along the main road. Wednesday clean-ups in smaller groups, on a rotational level between pairs, led and made up by our neighbouring businesses is the mission and of course more involvement and awareness by the community.
Our next Mass Clean-Up will take place on September the 17th 2022, on world clean-up day. For more information on how to get involved, kindly contact hoa7@xanadu.co.za
The Take Back Our Town initiative continues to grow, as the long–term idea and goal is to have a clean and safe town, that remembers and relives its days of glory.
“Become the change that you would like to see.”
