Imagine a township where surfboards and satoshis coexist, where children master both waves and wallets, and where a local economy thrives beyond the reach of traditional banks. This is Bitcoin Ekasi—a radical experiment unfolding in Mossel Bay, South Africa, where Hermann Vivier, a philosopher-turned-surf-mentor, is rewriting the rules of empowerment.
Vivier turned to bitcoin not just as a lifeline, but as a catalyst for revolution. Today, in a community once paralyzed by poverty and distrust, salaries flow in sats, vendors transact peer-to-peer, and teenagers run bitcoin nodes with ease.
Dive into the story of how one man’s quest to merge surfing with savings is transforming a forgotten township into a beacon of hyperbitcoinization—and why this microcosm of innovation might just hold the key to a global financial paradigm shift. 
First Steps in Bitcoin
- Can you introduce yourself and share a bit about your background before founding Bitcoin Ekasi?
My name is Hermann Vivier. I am 39 years old. I live with my wife and two children in Mossel Bay, South Africa.
I grew up in Cape Town, South Africa, but lived, worked and studied in various places, including Amsterdam, London and Denmark, while I was a teenager and in my early twenties. I studied Philosophy and Literature and spent most of my time as a young adult working in restaurants, bars and nightclubs.
In 2010 my wife and I co-founded The Surfer Kids Non-profit, alongside our tourism business, Unravel Surf Travel. The Surfer Kids teaches surfing to young kids from impoverished local communities in Mossel Bay. Unravel Surf Travel brings overseas tourists on surf-trips to South Africa. We work mostly with Russians and Eastern Europeans.
I stumbled across bitcoin in 2013 and, when sanctions separated Unravel Surf Travel from its client base in 2014, we adopted bitcoin as a means of payment, to continue operating. We’ve been accepting bitcoin as payment since 2015.
- What are some key lessons you’ve learned throughout this journey that you would like to share with aspiring entrepreneurs or community leaders?
99% of people will not adopt bitcoin unless it solves an immediate problem for them. In our case, access to digital payments, and the opportunity to save, were immediate problems. And so we addressed those.
If you want to push bitcoin adoption go to where it solves a problem. Don’t push adoption where there’s no immediate need for it.
Building on Bitcoin
- What inspired you to start Bitcoin Ekasi, and why do you believe it is essential for your community?
A general lack of understanding among the wider population of South Africa (and the world at large) inspired me to build a practical example of bitcoin’s real world-adoption. Particularly one that demonstrates its value as a medium of exchange. This example, I knew, would prompt new ways of thinking about bitcoin.
Coupled with the realization that, without educating people about finance and savings, the effect of our social development work with The Surfer Kids (among impoverished communities) would remain severely limited. To truly empower the community we had to give them tools with which they could empower themselves.
That tool is bitcoin. You cannot plan without saving, and you cannot save without investing. Bitcoin is the easiest, most secure, and most accessible form of investment available to the community we work with.
- What is the core mission of Bitcoin Ekasi, and what specific problems are you aiming to solve in your community?
The core mission is to spur the adoption of bitcoin, both as a medium of exchange and as a store of value, within the local community of JCC, our geographical focal point.
This is how we believe we’ll have the greatest impact on the empowerment and upliftment of the people there. Secondary to that, the core aim is to encourage other people to replicate that.
- Can you describe the educational programs offered by Bitcoin Ekasi? How do they help increase financial literacy and understanding of bitcoin?
We offer weekly Bitcoin Diploma classes (developed by My First Bitcoin) – 5 days a week, all classes conducted in-person, with youths recruited from local primary schools.
Some of the more exceptional graduates are building nodes and using tools that even I don’t always fully understand, and that tells me we’re doing something right.
- What strategies do you use to onboard new users to bitcoin, especially those who may be skeptical or unfamiliar with technology?
We demonstrate that bitcoin is useful for spending. This is always the first and most important step. It is through spending that people learn to trust that this thing has value. And slowly, over time, that trust builds to the point where they’re ready to start saving in it.
Overcoming Challenges in the Space
- What challenges have you encountered while promoting bitcoin adoption in the township, and how have you addressed them?
The biggest challenge was overcoming the perception that bitcoin is a scam. Scams are more prevalent in communities where poverty creates desperation, people are willing to try anything to make money, and where illiteracy makes people easy targets.
Education is also challenging, as we’re working within a community where educational standards are far lower than average, and teaching someone how to use bitcoin is challenging if (for example) they cannot read numbers. We address this, first, with endless practical demonstrations, and second through ongoing education, both formal, and informal.
- How does Bitcoin Ekasi address concerns about the volatility of bitcoin in everyday transactions?
https://www.blink.sv/en/stablesats
Community Feedback
- In what ways does Bitcoin Ekasi empower marginalized groups within the community, particularly women and youth?
It is cliche, but bitcoin really does offer itself as the first touch point many people have with a reliable form of savings. There are multiple instances of youths and woman for whom this (exposure to bitcoin through our project) represents the first proper investment they’ve ever made.
- What role do partnerships (e.g., with organizations like The Surfer Kids NPO) play in the success of Bitcoin Ekasi?
As explained above, we (The Surfer Kids & Bitcoin Ekasi) employ ~20 people, part-time & full-time, all of them earn 100% of their salaries in bitcoin. About two-thirds of our staff spend the majority of their time working for The Surfer Kids, running youth programs for over 60 children, five days a week.
These bitcoin salaries are the core of the engine that powers our circular economy as coaches and staff spend sats without converting to fiat at shops they themselves onboard.
- What has been the most rewarding experience for you as the founder of Bitcoin Ekasi?
Seeing outsiders visit the project and leave with fewer preconceived ideas. And being given the opportunity to become a founding organiser of the Adopting Bitcoin Cape Town Conference, as a direct result of the work I’ve done with Bitcoin Ekasi.
- How do you measure the success and impact of Bitcoin Ekasi on the local community?
Our impact can best be witnessed, first hand, but it’s difficult to quantify. My best measuring stick for this is the growth and development of the people I work with on a daily basis. We (The Surfer Kids & Bitcoin Ekasi) employ ~20 people, part-time & full-time, and all of them earn 100% of their salaries in bitcoin.
I am witness to their personal transformation. That is the best measurement I have. A secondary effect (very similar in nature) is witnessing the development and growth of the businesses that adopt bitcoin as payment, where our coaches spend their sats.
Vision for the Future
- What excites you most about the future of Bitcoin Ekasi and its potential impact on your community?
To see the impact (particularly the social impact) that this accumulation of wealth will have on this formerly impoverished community, as bitcoin goes through its monetization phase.
There are more Satoshi millionaires living in this random tiny little South African township, than there are in some of the wealthiest suburbs in Cape Town.
- Where do you see Bitcoin Ekasi in the next five years? What are your long-term goals for the initiative?
In five years, hopefully our new support centre will be finished. We’re now a year into the process and still in the application phase of getting land from the local government. Our plan is to construct a new support centre, to inspire both this community and communities all around the world.
- How can the larger bitcoin community contribute to your mission?
