Knysna is often described through its landscape: the lagoon, the Heads, the forests and the coastline. But a town is also shaped by the people who build businesses, teach children, care for their communities, improve shared spaces and keep finding ways to make things better.
For Women’s Month, we wanted to look beyond the places we usually recommend to guests and introduce a few of the women whose work is part of everyday Knysna.
This is by no means a complete list. It is simply a snapshot of five women working in very different areas, each contributing something of her own to the town.
Beverley Pothier: giving local business a stronger voice
In February 2026, Beverley Pothier became the first woman elected chairperson of the Greater Knysna Business Chamber.
The Chamber represents businesses across Greater Knysna and works on the practical issues that affect the local economy, from infrastructure and municipal engagement to creating an environment in which businesses can operate and grow. In recent months, Beverley has been one of the local business voices engaging publicly on concerns affecting the town and its commercial areas.
Her appointment is noteworthy not simply because she is the first woman to hold the role. Small towns depend heavily on the people willing to sit around tables, raise difficult issues, find common ground and keep local business interests represented.
For visitors, much of this work happens invisibly. Yet the cafés, restaurants, shops, tour operators, accommodation businesses and independent enterprises that make Knysna interesting all form part of the same local economy.
Pauli Coetsee Botha: carrying a Knysna food institution forward
Some Knysna businesses become part of the way people remember the town, and île de païn is one of them.
Pauli Coetsee Botha and her husband Willem bought the well-known Thesen Island bakery and café in 2020. Pauli is a trained chef and pastry chef, and the couple later developed The Nest, also on Thesen Island.
Running two busy food businesses is one kind of contribution to a town. Employing and developing people is another. Pauli and Willem have also focused on developing their team and creating opportunities to learn and grow within their businesses.
There is a community element too. During KILT’s 2025 Digital Tech Drive, Pauli offered île de païn as a collection point for donated phones, laptops, tablets and other devices intended to support education in Knysna schools.
For visitors, of course, there is a much simpler way to encounter her work: stop at île de païn for coffee, bread or breakfast and experience one of Thesen Island’s best-known local businesses for yourself.
Ella Mapurisa: using tourism to support a community
Ella Mapurisa’s work shows how tourism can reach much further than the visitor experience itself.
Ella and Penny Mainwaring are behind Emzini Tours, which takes guests into Knysna’s township communities to learn about local life, businesses, culture and history. Through Emzini Tours, Ella and Penny have raised funds from visitors from around the world to support projects in the local community.
For Ella, the work grew from something deeply personal. She wanted the tourism business to help provide children with safety, food, clothing and education, and give them a better chance of building independent lives. That eventually led to the establishment of the Lukhanyiso Safe House, providing a place of safety and support for children who need it.
Today the tour continues to provide visitors with an opportunity to see a part of Knysna they might otherwise pass without understanding, while helping to support the wider social work connected to Emzini.
It is a good example of something that matters in tourism: where visitors spend their money can have an impact well beyond the few hours of an activity.
Paula Wishart: helping to revive shared spaces
If you have noticed new planting, restored corners or community-led improvements around Knysna, there is a good chance volunteers have been involved somewhere along the way.
Paula Wishart is a co-founder of Revive Knysna, a local non-profit organisation created by residents to improve and revitalise the town. Revive Knysna’s projects range from conservation and improvements to public spaces to heritage and community initiatives.
Some of the results are wonderfully tangible. Recent projects include planting indigenous trees along Waterfront Drive and the Lagoon Edge Walkway, alongside ongoing work to improve and care for public spaces. The organisation is funded through local support and relies heavily on volunteers.
Paula’s role is a reminder that a town’s appearance and atmosphere are not only the responsibility of large institutions. Sometimes change starts because residents decide that a neglected corner could look better, a tree could be planted or a public space deserves more care.
Those individual improvements may seem small, but together they become part of how both residents and visitors experience Knysna.
Dr Judy-Marié van Noordwyk: investing in Knysna’s youngest residents
Some of the most important work being done in Knysna is much less visible to visitors.
Dr Judy-Marié van Noordwyk is the Managing Director of the Knysna Education Trust, an organisation focused on strengthening early childhood development in Knysna and the wider Garden Route. She joined KET in the role in 2025 after working in the social development sector.
KET works with the people running and teaching in early childhood development centres, providing training, support and programmes designed to improve the quality of early learning. Women make up around 95% of key staff in South Africa’s ECD workforce, so KET’s programmes support not only children, but women’s economic participation and development within their communities.
Through its work with SmartStart, KET has also helped women establish and operate early-learning programmes. A recent multi-year project expanded access to early learning for thousands of children while helping to launch 50 women-led small businesses.
It is long-term work. The results may not appear on a visitor itinerary, but better early education changes what is possible for children, families and eventually the wider town.
A town shaped in many different ways
There is no single way to make a difference to a place.
It can mean running a business and creating employment. It can mean advocating for the local economy, caring for children, improving a public space, supporting education or using tourism to put resources back into a community.
Beverley, Pauli, Ella, Paula and Judy-Marié represent only a small part of that story.
Across Knysna there are women running shops and restaurants, teaching in classrooms, leading organisations, creating art, caring for people, starting small businesses and quietly doing the work that keeps communities moving.
Women’s Month gives us a reason to notice some of them. The better reason, perhaps, is simply that the places we enjoy when we travel are always about more than scenery.
They are shaped by people.