Intu Afrika Kalahari Reserve, Namibia

The Intu Afrika Kalahari Game Reserve, with its well-developed eco-tourism infrastructure, is situated in the red dunes of the Kalahari Desert to the north-east of the small town Mariental in Namibia.

The reserve is home to a large variety of game and birds as well as plentiful tree and grass species typical of the Kalahari red dune ecosystem. It is here in the Kalahari in a traditional hunting area of the Bushmen where the idea was born for members of the Bushmen community to join hands with the management in order to develop ecotourism projects for the benefit of all parties concerned.

The Bushmen are the true indigenous people of Southern Africa. For centuries they have lived undisturbed and in harmony with the environment. Their lifestyle was that of nomadic hunter-gatherer groups where leadership was undefined and tribal fights unknown. History has, however, not always been kind to this peaceful people. As other African tribes moved down from the north and the early white settlers moved up from the Cape, they encountered the Bushmen who inhabited almost the whole of Southern Africa. Soon the Bushmen were displaced by the more dominant alien cultures in the region, so much so that today the Bushmen live only in the most harsh and remote parts of Southern Africa.

For the past decade development workers, donor agencies and governments have made an effort to assist Bushmen communities with development programs. Success has been limited, especially in the field of regaining traditional rights over land and natural resources. To address these issues, The Intu Afrika Corporation has developed a project that it believes will provide a blueprint for the successful implementation of development projects with the Bushmen and other indigenous minority peoples. The project has the support of the WIMSA, the Working Group for Indigenous Minorities of Southern Africa, which acts as the collective voice for the Southern African Bushmen community.

The objective of the Intu Afrika Bushmen Project is to empower the community in order to regain their dignity and pride. This has been done by creating employment opportunities and the giving the Bushmen scope to practice cultural activities that utilize traditional Bushmen skills in order to generate income for the community. These activities include game guiding, tracking, camp supervising and craft-making. Intu Afrika provides the basic training required to perform these tourist-related activities.

Another important aspect of this project has been the drafting of a clear legal agreement between the Bushmen Community at Intu Afrika and the Intu Afrika Corporation. This provides security for the community through a shareholding in the company and game reserve held in trust on behalf of the community.

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