Free Surf 55

COFFEE SHACK'S



The Coffee Shack first welcomed guests on the 8th February 2000, after partners Dave Malherbe, Andre Malherbe and Dave Cornick, were given a lease to rent the main property and had completed lots of frantic renovation, painting and cleaning. In April 2000, they also took over the lease of the "beach side" property, across the stream. The partners also own Sugar Shack in East London and Away With The Fairies Backpackers in Hogsback. Coffee Shack is managed by husband-and-wife, Dave and Belinda.

There's been constant effort, work and a high degree of organisation put in to make Coffee Shack one of the most successful and popular youth hostels in the country.

It began as a quirky but rather uncomfortable collection of buildings run by travellers and surfers. Since then there's been a lot of building work done, particularly on the shower blocks, which have been described by guests as "amazing" and "designer bathrooms in the middle of nowhere," and also on the main kitchen / bar / dining / conversation area, with its decking and thatch. Future plans include a new entertainment and bar area, with a sundeck opening straight onto the ocean.

The staff scene has changed over the years, and instead of consisting of travellers stopping over for a few weeks, the staff are now mostly from the area, and are properly trained, with several of them holding tourism-related tertiary qualifications. We encourage further education and several of our employees have benefited from this.

Our involvement with the comunity has grown over the years, and we're now a small but important part of the local scene. The Transkei is one of the poorest and least-developed parts of the country, and apart from our employees and their families, we're also a much-needed source of income for fisherman, choirs, craftsmen and families who open their homes to cultural tours.

We believe in giving back to the community in a meaningful way, and are also involved in education. This follows on from proprietor Deryk Lang's long-term work in the area (he's been involved in setting up many of the schools in the area over the past 40 years). We assist the Pato Junior School through a fundraising appeal, and also provide scholarships for local kids to complete their secondary education at boarding schools (there are no senior schools in the area, and as a result most do not complete their schooling).

Ownership of Coffee Shack has also changed. Thanks to EU involvement, the Tshezi Community Trust owns 30% of Coffee Shack (the Tshezi are the local sub-tribe of the Xhosa people).