The Western Cape’s Wupperthal is so safe that you can sleep on your stoep

Eric van Rooy is 69. He grew up in the little town of Wupperthal in the Western Cape, and has lived there most of his life.

He worked in the old glove factory for a while before it closed down. Now, he works for the Community Work Programme (CWP), and fetches his old age grant from Clanwilliam each month.

The CWP, a national initiative aimed at providing a safety net to working people, only employs about 47 people out of a population of about 7,400. But in a town where jobs are scarce, it is welcome.

The programme is managed and funded by the National Department of Cooperative Governance.

Founded in 1830 as a Moravian church mission station, Wupperthal is the main mission station for about 14 outpost villages scattered around the Cederberg mountain region.

The town is only accessible on a gravel road, a 70 km drive from Clanwilliam.

Every month van Rooy either pays R250 for transport to Clanwilliam or pays someone R50 to collect his grant.

He says he used to struggle but things are more “tranquil” now. He plans to retire next year.

The CWP work opportunities in the Cederberg include Citrusdal and the nearby Riverview Informal Settlement, Clanwilliam, Elands Bay, Graafwater, Lamberts Bay, and Wupperthal and its surrounds like Algeria.

“The work in the Cederberg Municipality is mostly focused on cleaning and greening. Other forms of work include, amongst others, the support of the local clinics, early childhood development facilities, and soup kitchens,” said Wouter Kriel, spokesperson for Minister Anton Bredell of the Western Cape Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning.

According to the Cederberg municipality Integrated Development Plan (IDP) for 2024/25, in Wupperthal about 1,132 people are dependent on social grants. Of these, 433 are old age grant beneficiaries.

The town also relies on small-scale farming, especially rooibos, and also the historic shoe factory producing “veldskoene”.

It is recognisable by its white, thatched-roof historic buildings centred around the Moravian church. It also has a post office, a small shop, a community hall, a primary school, a clinic, a restaurant and places to stay.

Wupperthal was devastated by a fire in December 2018 that destroyed over 50 houses and left 200 people homeless. They had to be placed in temporary houses.

Many houses and historic buildings have since been restored, including Leipoldt House, the community hall, the “Winkelhuis”, the school hostel complex, and the Palms Guest House.

Kevin Valentyn, 58, also works for the CWP. He has lived in Wupperthal all of his life, and still lives in the house in which he was born. He said at the moment there was very little work in the town.

Heavy rains and flooding in the Cederberg in July completely cut the town off. Humanitarian aid had to be sent to the residents.

Valentyn said the community vegetable gardens were thriving before the floods. “Then the storm came and washed it away,” he said.

The town is growing in size, says van Rooy. “More houses are being built,” he said. The population in the Cederberg is expected to grow annually by about 1.4% over the next few years.

Van Rooy says it is a tranquil town to live in and that Wupperthallers don’t “know” crime. You could sleep outside on your stoep, he says. “No one will bother you.”

This article was first published by GroundUp.