Ghost towns, great investments? Creative reuse of abandoned Karoo villages
The Karoo’s regeneration push
It’s not just dreamers who see potential in the Karoo. The South African Local Government Association (SALGA) has identified the country’s small towns, many of them in the Karoo, as priority zones for economic revitalisation through its Small Town Regeneration Programme. Rather than pursuing large-scale urbanisation, this initiative encourages growth from within by restoring infrastructure, attracting entrepreneurs, and fostering the skills of local residents. While progress has been uneven and funding scarce, the intent is clear: government sees value in these towns, and incentives (both formal and informal) are beginning to align with that vision.
Angels in the dust: a case study in Vondeling
Consider Vondeling, a near-forgotten hamlet nestled off the R62. In 2006, a craft-based community upliftment project quietly began. By 2010, it had given rise to Karoo Angels—a venture producing ethereal wire and ostrich feather ornaments that have made their way into European homes and design boutiques. What started as an attempt to create a handful of jobs turned into a thriving export business with deep local roots. The lesson is poignant: it doesn't take millions in capital to revive a Karoo town, just the right combination of vision and infrastructure.
Urban escapees and the rise of ‘semigration’
In the post-COVID environment, a different trend has begun to shape the future of these towns: semigration. As housing costs in Cape Town and Johannesburg soar, and as remote work loosens geographic chains, more South Africans are eyeing the Karoo for its affordability and lifestyle. Towns like Prince Albert, Nieu-Bethesda, and even less polished locales like Loxton and Noupoort are drawing the attention of urbanites looking to swap congestion for community. These migrants bring with them not just capital, but new ideas: boutique guesthouses, organic farms, remote tech ventures, and wellness retreats are sprouting in their wake.
Incentives exist, but so do challenges
For investors or entrepreneurs with an eye on small-town potential, the groundwork is encouraging but incomplete. Some municipalities offer reduced rates on vacant land or support for agritourism ventures, and property remains astonishingly cheap by national standards. Many of these towns still battle chronic water issues, failing roads, unreliable electricity, and under-resourced schools.
Simply put: creative reuse of Karoo ghost towns requires more than nostalgia. It demands long-term investment and an honest reckoning with the complex legacies of rural neglect.
Still, there is something deeply compelling about the idea. In an era where city life is increasingly unaffordable, the Karoo offers space: not just physical, but imaginative. Space to rethink value, purpose, and place. Space to build a new kind of rural economy that doesn’t replicate the past, but gently reclaims it. Perhaps that’s the biggest investment opportunity of all, not just to flip forgotten buildings into Instagrammable spaces, but to reimagine what a village can be when it's built on both heritage and innovation.
