Nhoma Safari Camp
P.O. Box 1899
Tsumeb, Namibia
Cell: 081-2734606

Web: www.tsumkwel.iway.na
e-mail: tsumkwel@iway.na

Nyae Nyae Conservancy

The area was formerly called Eastern Bushmanland, the "homeland" of the Ju/'hoansi. Ju/'hoansi is pronounced Zhu-wahnsi and literally means "real people". They are also referred to as San, Bushmen or !Kung. Tsumkwe is a small settlement that formed in 1959 when the first Commissioner set up his base near a village underneath a huge baobab tree close to a semi-permanent spring. The area borders Botswana in the east, Hereroland in the south and Kavango and Khaudum National Park in the north.

The Nyae Nyae Conservancy, registered in 1998, gives the Ju/’hoan people the right to utilise the wildlife in the area by receiving the income from a hunting concession. The conservancy with less than a 1000 members (total number of Ju/’hoansi residing in the area are about 3000) receive 10 000 US dollar per year from the concession. They may also hunt traditionally in the area. The WWF (Worldwide Fund for nature) has sponsored the reintroduction of game such as eland, springbuck, blue wildebeest and oryx to increase game numbers. Elephants occur in the area and are often found at game waterholes during the dry season. Hyenas, leopards, cheetahs, wild dogs and a few lions are the larger predators. The 60 plus buffaloes that occurred in the area are confined to a 10 000 hectare camp close to Tsumkwe that may not be entered. Tsumkwe lies in the center of the Nyae Nyae Conservancy, but is not part of the conservancy. There is a conservancy office in Tsumkwe where tourists can obtain information and arrange for a guide.

The conservancy is 9003 square kilometers in size and stretches from about 30km west of Tsumkwe and 55km east to the Botswana border. From north to south it stretches from the Kavango border, about 50km to the north and about 50 km to the south, to the Hereroland border. The area to the west of the Nyae Nyae conservancy up to the veterinary fence was known as western Bushmanland and the N≠a-Jaqna conservancy was established there.

The Ju/'hoansi have always lived in the Nyae Nyae area as well as across the border in Botswana, north in what is now the Khaudum National Park and south in what is now Hereroland. Archaeologists claim they’ve lived here for at least 40 000 years (ash from their fires have been found below the calcrete layer). This area has been isolated, because waterless sandy areas with no access routes surrounded it. The Nyae Nyae area itself used to have 16 permanent water holes (of which Tsumkwe’s was one) and a number of semi-permanent water holes. The Ju/’hoansi are the most traditional of all !Kung groups, because they have been isolated so long. It was only in 1951 that the Marshall family from the USA made their first expedition to Nyae Nyae and began to research their culture. Other people literally followed in their tracks. Finally the SADF had a number of bases in the area where the Ju/’hoansi were trained as trackers. The children attended school at all these bases and many people received salaries for the first time. Before that, contact with the western world was limited to a few elephant hunters, German Schutztruppe who chased after the fleeing Hereros in 1905 and the Dorslandtrekkers (Afrikaners who left the Transvaal in search of a new land to settle in). In 1959 the first Bushman commissioner settled in Tsumkwe and in 1970 the Odendaal commission drew the borders of Bushmanland, thereby reducing their area by 70%. The Ju/’hoansi settled around Tsumkwe and this led to lots of domestic problems and left the land open for habitation by other races. John Marshall and Claire Ritchie founded the Nyae Nyae Farmers Cooperation in 1981. They facilitated the drilling of boreholes and encouraged the Ju/’hoansi to start cattle farming. This organization later became the Nyae Nyae Development Foundation which is closely affiliated with the Nyae Nyae Conservancy.

Since the 1950's the Ju/’hoansi have had contact with the outside world, and therefore they don't wear traditional skin clothing anymore. They are also now settled in about 37 villages, each with its own borehole. Employment opportunities in the area are limited and most people don’t have a steady income. They receive a yearly payment from the hunting concession and also earn money from the selling of crafts and the selling of Devil’s Claw (Harpagophytum procumbens), an anti-inflammatory herbal medicine, and people over the age of 60 receive a government pension. Sometimes emergency aid in the form of maize meal is distributed by the government, as is the case throughout Namibia. People still collect veld foods and hunt game to supplement their diet of maize meal porridge. There are 5 village schools in the area so that children can attend school up to grade 3 in their native language. Thereafter they can attend school in Tsumkwe.

There are about 105 different plants that the Ju/’hoansi utilised traditionally. They have names for at least 300 different plant species. They are therefore accomplished botanists and to collect veld food with them is an interesting experience. It is possible to accompany them on a hunt, but game is quite scarce. At the larger villages, you may arrange for traditional dancing. Always ask permission before camping anywhere. Some villages have campsites where you may camp, but no facilities are provided. If you don’t speak Afrikaans, you should get a translator from the community. Try the conservancy office in Tsumkwe and if they are closed, enquire at the shop.

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