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About the Trust


The Bathurst Development Trust (BDT) is a community-led and charitably funded organisation that strives to provide the people of Bathurst, Nolukhanyo and surrounding areas with the resources, skills, and assistance they need to break the cycle of poverty and uplift the area as a whole.


Projects funded by the trust focus primarily on sustainable community upliftment programmes, and tourism initiatives (this being the largest contributor to the area’s economy).

 


Administrative details


Phone: +27(0) 46 625 0028
Email: info@bathurstdevelopmenttrust.org.za

Trustee: Leslie Gavin Came
Trustee: Neill Lawrence Dugmore Pike
Trustee: Brenda Marian Campbell

Reg No. IT000056/2019E
NPO No. NPO 237-594

268 Kowie Road
Bathurst
6166
Eastern Cape


To Donate


Please send all donations via electronic funds transfer directly to the Bathurst Development Trust’s bank account:

  • SWIFT Address: CABLZAJJ
  • Bank Name: Capitec Business
  • Branch Name: Relationship Suite
  • Branch Code: 450105
  • Account Name: BATHURST DEVELOPMENT TRUST
  • Account Number: 1053431678
  • Account Type: Capitec Business Account
  • Date Account Opened: 10/04/2025
  • Entity Registration/ID Number: IT000056/2019(E)
  • From Detail: Please insert InitialsSurname

Background


Bathurst/Nolukhanyo is a small village situated in the broader municipality of Ndlambe. There are about 3,800 registered voters in the village, which implies there are about 7,000 residents of all ages. The area is rich in history (there are about 9 heritage sites in the village) and after farming, tourism is the top contributor to the local economy, where spinoff is felt as tourists, farmworkers, and farmers spend their excess incomes at restaurants, shops, taverns, and pubs in the village.


The following key points indicated the need for a community-led development initiative in the area:


  • Informal surveys indicate that there is in excess of 60% adult unemployment in the village.
  • Given the poverty in the area, informal and unregistered initiatives are undertaken to raise funds to assist in the dire circumstances of need in the community. These include feeding schemes, animal inoculation, pet sterilization, and other community initiatives
  • Municipal services are patchy to non-existent with the following consequences:
    • Heritage sites not owned by private citizens and in the care of the municipality are neglected and as a result, are maintained by townspeople and local businesses using their own resources.
    • Roads, particularly gravel roads, are maintained by local community members.
    • Signage to tourism venues is erected and maintained by the community.
    • The deterioration of roads, signage, and heritage sites has a deeply felt negative impact on the community, as the economy of the village is almost entirely dependent on tourism.
  • The educational needs are poorly met by state resources and the schools are in constant need of equipment and facilities which the community battles to provide.
  • To promote and support business in the area, the community and business undertake community-based initiatives to attract business and activity into the Village.

It is in this environment that the Trust provides financial resources and can attract support from benefactors.