Planning for the rest camp began in 1995. I visited the Kuru Development Trust (KDT) in Botswana, where a large group of San discussed the establishment of the Working Group of Indigenous Minorities in Southern Africa (WIMSA). After I had seen the KDT projects I thought that I should encourage my community to start a project.
The inhabitants of Tsumkwe District West and of the Omatako Valley, where the project would be based, are mainly San of the !Kung, Vasekele, and Mahenge groups. In 1996, I held meetings with members of several communities of the Omatako valley and we decided to start a development project by setting up a campsite at the junction to Omatako, a small village near the road. Our aim was to attract tourists to stay at the rest camp and pay for services rendered by the San. As we felt unable to carry out all the necessary tasks entirely on our own, we asked the Centre for Applied Social Sciences (CASS) and WIMSA for advice and some initial financial support.
We initiated the Omatako Valley Rest Camp to generate income, create jobs, acquire training, assist our leaders financially, teach tourists about our culture, and set a good example for other San communities. Since the campsite’s official opening in April 1997, more and more San communities have expressed interest in joining the project either directly or indirectly. In the interim, we have learned much about running a development project. Sometimes we become frustrated at not meeting our goals; at other times, particularly when we are working well in unison, we achieve success and feel encouraged.
Management Problems
Throughout 1996, 30 San community members from four villages were involved in building small houses out of locally found stones. They also built a shop, an office, a cool house, and an ablution block. The people worked without payment, receiving only compensation for clothes torn during the hard work.
After the facilities were erected we held meetings with community members from the four villages and representatives of WIMSA and CASS. We decided how to manage the campsite and what to offer tourists. A camp committee was elected and a camp manager appointed. We decided that we should offer to tourists accommodation, parking, firewood, bush walks, village visits, and traditional dances. Community members would be able to sell their crafts in the camp’s shop. Furthermore, we agreed that the money earned from the camp site should be divided four ways: 25 percent to the camp workers, 25 percent to the traditional leaders, 25 percent to be used for repairs and improvements to the campsite, and 25 percent to be saved for future investments.
Not everything worked as well as we expected. We realized that we lacked skills in bookkeeping and tourism management. WIMSA arranged on-the-job training for the camp manager and his colleague at a privately run lodge, and the manager participated in a short bookkeeping course.
Unfortunately, some community members felt jealous that camp personnel earned salaries. Their feelings created some conflict, which in turn led to accusations of mismanagement. Several different people have thus held the positions of camp manager and shopkeeper. In the period between the dismissal of a previous manager and the appointment of a replacement, the project suffered because nobody assumed responsibility for running the campsite.
The community members expect me, their chief, to solve all their problems. This often presents a great burden for me and sometimes I do not know what to do, especially when I am needed in Omatako and at the same time in Windhoek, where, for example, I am required to negotiate with government officials. Although community members worked without payment at the beginning, they now demand payment for everything. I have explained to them that the project has not yet earned enough money and that they will benefit in future, but they have threatened the camp committee with their plan to strike or leave the camp site altogether.
Fortunately, the problems are not continual. I have observed that the motivation of camp workers and the camp committee has increased after long discussions in community meetings and whenever the number of tourists visiting the site has grown.
Lessons Learned
Our community project got off to a very slow start, but we have used the time to learn and improve the camp’s management. We know that we still have to improve our services, obtain training in bookkeeping, take more responsibility, work sometimes without payment, and trust each other more. I am confident that our campsite is already regarded as an impressive example of a San-initiated development project. San from Botswana who visited us recently were impressed with what they saw and heard. This year we have taken our initiative further and are in the process of applying for a conservancy, which will give us the right to manage and benefit from the natural resources in our area. Keep your fingers crossed.
This article is adapted from an address to the participants of the Indigenous Peoples' Consultation on Empowerment, Culture, and Spirituality in Community Development. A report on the consultation was published by Kuru & WIMSA in 1999. Text courtesy of the WIMSA head office, 8 Bach St., Windhoek, Namibia.
