Good Things · 4 hours ago

Local Idea Could Change How Sa Fight Back Against Potholes

When a South African entrepreneur named Jaraad Hassim grew tired of burst tyres and shredded suspensions, he didn't just complain -- he created PatchPal, a cold-mix repair system that fixes potholes in under ten minutes without waiting for tenders or road crews. The innovation taps into something deeply familiar: a country where "ordinary people step in" when systems fail, where pensioners and students have picked up spades because waiting years simply isn't an option. It's technically illegal in many parts of South Africa to repair potholes without authorization, yet communities have crowdsourced over 200 such repairs in recent years alone, driven by what the founder calls "the growing determination of ordinary South Africans to improve the places they live in, even when the odds feel stacked against them." What began in a garage out of frustration has now spread across Southern Africa, turning a crater in the road into proof that the most practical solutions often come from those tired of watching their neighborhoods fall apart.