Look…Down! Artsy Pavers Popping Up in Makhanda…

Photo Credit: Verge of Change Makhanda

Art underfoot! Delightful new pops of colour are putting a skip in everyone’s step on High Street in Makhanda.

Makhanda, South Africa (27 August 2026) – Verge of Change Makhanda, a community project for urban regeneration, is encouraging town-goers to look down when skipping along High Street!

According to the group, unique pavers have been installed along a section of the town’s main street, outside two local establishments – the Graham Hotel and Pothole and Donkey.

The pavers feature colourful little artworks, with some incorporating recycled materials like plastic and glass collected by the SEF. Recycling is just one of the many branches of the SEF’s mission to clean up and beautify the town while creating employment opportunities for local communities. Their multiple teams recycle, tar, clean and clear, fix, build and create!

The pavers each don unique faces, with artworks of flowers, cats, feathers and colourful patterns, and there are even a few depictions of the town’s friendly resident donkeys.

The SEF works to address problems faced by the local community by doing work that benefits the common good. Its teams create and maintain food gardens at local underserved schools, where infrastructure and grounds are also maintained. Indigenous plants are cultivated and maintained in public spaces, invasive vegetation is cleared, roads are repaired, and public areas are cleaned and cleared, with recyclables collected, sorted and cleaned to be reused.

The Presidential Employment Stimulus Programme helps make much of this work possible by creating part-time paid work opportunities within civil society organisations, helping to tackle the issue of high unemployment. Over the last four years, the SEF has brought jobs to 1600 participants each year.

The next time you find yourself on High Street, look down to spot a lovely reminder that there is good being done on the streets of our small towns!