ABOUT US
The Bitou Community Foundation Trust (also known simply as The Bitou Trust) was established in 2017 as a registered UK charity (Registration Number 1172847) dedicated to assisting disadvantaged communities and advancing sustainable development and conservation within the Bitou region of the Western Cape Province of South Africa.
Over the past decade, the Bitou area has seen huge growth in its permanent resident population – doubling from 29,000 in 2001 to some 60,000 in 2018 which, at its current annual growth rate of 3.8%, will see the population more than doubling again to circa 140,000 by 2030. The greatest contributor to this high growth in population has been a marked increase in the poor communities of Bitou, fuelled by hopeful migrants drawn by unrealistic expectations of work and a brighter future within the region. This growth places significant demand on support services, the environment and on the need for health, education, employment and environmental protection. Our beneficiaries are committed to meeting these needs.
OUR PURPOSE is to identify projects that contribute directly to community, education, health, wellbeing and conservation, and work with local partners who demonstrate leadership in their efforts to uplift the communities of Bitou and safeguard the environmental value of the region to its residents and to those who visit its corridor.
Situated in the heart of the UNESCO Garden Route Biosphere Reserve, the Bitou municipal area covers 992 square kilometres. At its centre, Plettenberg Bay falls within one of the smallest, but most diverse biodiversity hot spots on the planet, internationally recognized not only as an important marine conservation area, but also as host to highly threatened indigenous plant species found nowhere else on earth.
Our Beneficiaries
PlettAid
is committed to filling a crucial role in the health and welfare service infrastructure of the Bitou region, ensuring all have access to quality care, including palliative home-based for the sick and pastoral care for those affected by a death in the family, most especially children.
RCCPE
aims to protect this narrow and highly threatened 18 km stretch of beautiful pristine coastline within the NESCO Garden Route Biosphere Reserve, to enable the migration of plants and animals, and maintain key ecological processes.
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