This paper discusses a community-led fencing project in the Koup, an arid
predominantly sheep farming district in the South African Karoo. It highlights the
role of supportive government officials in sourcing funding and the importance of
committed individuals in overcoming collective action problems amongst
participating farmers. The project had a strong empowerment dimension in that
fencing team leaders were drawn from the ranks of unemployed people in Laingsburg
town and they were responsible for recruitment into the project and for the day to day
management of the work. Comparative analysis of the socio-economic position of the
fence workers with data from the 2011 population census of coloured people living in
Laingsburg town suggests that the fence workers were relatively poor and that the
project was appropriately targeted for a poverty alleviation programme. This was in
part because workers were required to camp on farms for two weeks at a time,
thereby resulting in the project automatically selecting for those most committed to
earning additional income. The study revealed that the fencing workers identified
themselves as general agricultural workers but had skills and experience from other
sectors including construction and services. Urban-based agricultural workers have
lived in Laingsburg for at least three decades i.e. before the shift of workers off farms
that took place across South Africa after 1990. The study sheds light on this longstanding,
but under-studied dimension of urban poverty and on the diverse strategies
(including reliance on government grants) that people use to combat it in the Karoo.