The Barrydale charity that started with biscuit tins
In the early 2000s, on a cold morning in Barrydale, a man named Peter Takelo started a Saturday band where small children made music on biscuit tins and oil cans. He called it Net vir Pret. Just for fun.
More than two decades later, that single idea has grown into one of the most important rural youth development organisations in the Western Cape. Net vir Pret now works with hundreds of children and young people every week across Barrydale and the surrounding Route 62 farms. It has remained, at its heart, exactly what Peter set out to build, a creative, safe space where rural children can develop their talents, find their voices, and dream bigger lives.
This is one of the quiet glories of small-town South Africa, and it is worth knowing about whether you live in Barrydale, are considering moving here, or are simply driving through.
How it started
Peter was working as a child development professional in Cape Town during the week and running his Saturday blikkies band in Barrydale. The two worlds met when he crossed paths with Ann Harries, a UK-based trustee of Education for Democracy in South Africa (EDSA), who shared his enthusiasm for working with children outside school hours.
Together they decided to formalise the dream. Net vir Pret took shape, was officially registered as an NGO, and began offering structured after-school activities to children in the Barrydale township (formerly known as Smitsville) and the surrounding farms.
What started with biscuit tins is now a properly run, registered Public Benefit Organisation with a dedicated team, multifunctional community centres, and partnerships across South Africa and abroad.
What Net vir Pret does today
The work has expanded out from the Barrydale township into the surrounding farms along Route 62, where children of farm workers face additional isolation and limited access to enrichment, sport and extra-curricular activity.
Today's programmes span:- Early childhood development for children with limited access to formal learning
- Aftercare programmes focused on reading, environmental education, technology, creative skills and academic support
- Sports development, with a strong focus on getting children off the street and into structured play
- Arts and crafts workshops
- Music and dance programmes, including the renowned riel dance groups
- Skills development for unemployed youth, women and men, equipping them with practical and income-generating skills
- Holiday programmes during school breaks
- Young Leaders schemes that train older teenagers from the local school to mentor younger children
The aim is simple. Keep children and youth safe, off the streets and out of danger. Discover and develop their individual skills. Encourage them to take leadership roles. Help them excel in school. Prepare them for life after school. Break the cycles of poverty, domestic violence, and substance misuse that affect so many of the families in the area.
The riel dance revival
One of Net vir Pret's most extraordinary contributions to South African culture is the revival of riel dance.
Riel is one of the oldest indigenous dance styles in Africa, with roots in the fireside rituals of the Khoisan people. For decades it had largely faded from view. Net vir Pret has helped change that. The organisation now runs multiple riel dance groups, with senior dancers training new and younger members across the Barrydale area and the surrounding farms.
Watching a Net vir Pret riel performance is one of the most moving experiences a visitor to Barrydale can have. The pride. The footwork. The sound of feet on the ground in time with handmade music. It is not the kind of thing you forget.
The dance matters because the story matters. The pride matters. The cultural recovery matters. And in a town where the legacy of historical inequality is still real, the work Net vir Pret does to give children of farm workers access to art, music, sport and education is genuinely transformative.
The Barrydale Puppet Parade
Every year on 16 December — South Africa's Day of Reconciliation — Net vir Pret co-hosts the Barrydale Puppet Parade, in collaboration with the Ukwanda Puppets and Designs Art Collective.
Giant puppets. Music. Theatre. The streets of Barrydale full of colour. Visitors travel from across the country to be there.
The parade is one of the most distinctive community events in the Western Cape, and it embodies what Net vir Pret stands for — joy, creativity, inclusivity, and the celebration of community.
Founder Peter Takelo's visionThe mission, in Peter's own words, is to encourage self-esteem, self-development, confidence and a sense of responsibility among children and young people from deprived communities in the Overberg, including those on the farms.
He believes every child has a right to a happy developmental childhood. The programmes are designed to provide opportunities for children to develop individual skills and talents, to take leadership roles in their community, to excel at school, and to prepare for life after school.
It is a quiet philosophy with loud results.
Many of the children who came through Net vir Pret in the early years have since gone on to tertiary education, leadership roles in their own community, and careers that would have looked impossible without the foundation they got on Saturday afternoons making music on biscuit tins.
How to support Net vir Pret
Net vir Pret runs largely on donor goodwill. Funding remains an ongoing challenge for any rural NPO, and consistent support makes all the difference between programmes that limp and programmes that thrive.
Ways to support:- Direct donations through the Net vir Pret website at netvirpret.co.za
- Sponsorship of specific programmes, such as the riel dance groups, holiday programmes, or sports development
- Volunteer time and skills, particularly from people with experience in education, the arts, or skills training
- Attending and supporting the Barrydale Puppet Parade and other public events
If you are visiting Barrydale, ask at your accommodation or at the Karoo Art Hotel whether any Net vir Pret performances are on during your stay. Watching a performance live is one of the best ways to understand the work and once you've seen one, you understand exactly why donors keep supporting it.
Why this matters for property buyersPeople considering a move to a small town often look at the houses, the prices, and the views. Those things matter.
But the deeper question, the one that decides whether a town will hold its character, is who is doing the work in the community, and how long have they been doing it?
Net vir Pret has been doing the work for over two decades. Quietly. Consistently. With real results. That tells you Barrydale is a town where the social fabric runs deep, where investment in the next generation is genuinely happening, and where the inequality of small-town South Africa is being actively addressed by people who live here.
For buyers comparing Klein Karoo and Overberg towns, that matters. A community lifts when its children are lifted. Net vir Pret is one of the reasons Barrydale's community feels so cohesive, and one of the reasons the town has the character that it has.
Frequently asked questions
What does "Net vir Pret" mean? It is Afrikaans for Just for Fun. The name reflects the founding philosophy that every child has a right to a creative, joyful childhood.
What does Net vir Pret do? After-school, weekend and holiday programmes for children and young people from deprived communities in Barrydale and the surrounding farms. Programmes span early childhood development, aftercare, sport, arts, music, riel dance, and skills development for older youth.
Where is Net vir Pret based? Headquartered in central Barrydale township, with programmes reaching surrounding farming areas along Route 62.
How is Net vir Pret funded? Through private donations, partner organisations such as EDSA in the UK and Stichting Projecten Zuid-Afrika in the Netherlands, and individual supporters in South Africa and abroad.
How can I donate to Net vir Pret? Through the website at netvirpret.co.za.
When is the Barrydale Puppet Parade? 16 December every year, on South Africa's Day of Reconciliation.
Buying a home in Barrydale means joining a community that puts its children first. Contact Ruth Goodman on 074 142 2861 to explore properties for sale in Barrydale and the surrounding Klein Karoo.