This article, from J. Dickson of the New Zealand Journal of Adult Learning, aims to outline the political and social context of adult education in the Mpumalanga Province, South Africa. The author focuses on two different providers of adult education, namely C4L - Lowveld Centre for Lifelong Learning, and Mpumalanga Regional Training Trust. Both of these providers operate "under the radar" of most analyses of South African education, however, they typify something of the flexible and innovative response community based provision can make within a transitional context.