The Foundation was dreamed into being as a way to bring the authentic Knysna experience back into its bustling centre.
The Foundation is now home to a local Collective of over 100 small businesses. It consists of a downstairs retail space where you will find a diverse selection of unique handmade crafts and high-end, top quality local design and clothing brands. Also on the lower lever is a package-free health and on-tap store as well as vendors serving coffee and other refreshments and an award-winning Asian restaurant.
Upstairs is home to a wellness space where you will find every type of practice from yoga, pilates and barre classes to mindfulness meditation, massage, oscillation therapy, holistic healthcare practitioners, ice bath/sauna and a tattoo studio.
The original building on the site which now hosts The Foundation was a thatched wooden building owned by William Gunn McPherson. It later became the West End Hotel and, after being demolished and rebuilt in 1915/1916, served as home to both the Knysna Oyster Club and the Knysna Bowling Club before being run again as a hotel.
