Week 13: Oh the Possibilities of a thoughtful Journey

Post by Buay Tut

After an eye-opening, relaxing and educational trip to the south, the 13^th week of classes eliciting topics ranging from religion and H.I.V. &A.I.D.s to political party structures in the United States and Namibia.

Religion students participating in an HIV/AIDS role play

In religion Evan Binder and Katylen Stremer lead the class on a discussion about the role which the church should play in facilitating and advocating awareness about H.I.V. and A.I.D.s.  Instead of the usual question and answer forum, we were each assigned a role as different members within a community. Each student then responded to a series of questions concerning the issue of H.I.V.  A.I.D.s within religious communities with the values and beliefs of whatever character they happen to be playing in mind. I really enjoyed this creative and unique way of facilitating discussion.

 With the last excursion out of the way and the ever approaching final integrative projects forthcoming, it has really started to sink in this week that our time in Namibia is slowly coming to an end.  This realization came in no greater sense than in our final wrap up session for our internship course on Tuesday. During this session we took the time to reflect and look back on our journey within the context of the internship course and experience. We revisited the initial fears we had and compared them to our current state of being and feeling about the internship experience. We focused on what we felt we gained in terms of knowledge, skills, and attitude, we then applied these three aspects to what we felt we contributed to the host organization.

 Having come off an exceptional summer internship at my local county attorney’s office this past summer, coupled with my being of African origin, I felt I was ready for and could handle anything Namibia threw at me. I thought since NamRights was also a public service entity it would possess the same dynamic’s between its employees as I had found at the county attorney’s office. I pictured everyone having their own set of objectives and workload to accomplish each day. In my mind I pictured having my own little desk, with my own work load specifically assigned for me to accomplish each day.

Buay and his coworkers at NamRights

I can only describe the environment and culture which I found at NamRights as laid back and relaxed. Often when there is not a press release, or pending documents to compile into electronic form, conversation and discourse consume our entire day. Another difference is the high level of freedom I have been given. Due to the lack of an outlined project and apart from my assigned duties of editing and revising press releases, I have the academic freedom to research and respond to any news articles or issues throughout Namibia or the globe as I desire.  I’ve learned to be much more flexible and not so constrained and dictated by schedules, but instead to just go with the flow. I feel I have also provided my host organization with a different perspective upon which to view and analyze issues.  I have learned much more then I could ever reciprocate, during my time with NamRights.

Week 12: An Excursion to the South

Post by Leah Rosenstiel

It really began to feel like the end of the semester 

as we headed to the South for our final excursion before we leave Namibia. Although we have not even come close to seeing all of the parts of Namibia, we have now gotten a taste of the South, Windhoek, the Kunene region, the north and the coast.

The trip was an extension of our Development class and we looked at eco-tourism and community-based resource management. From what I have gathered, community-based resource management is government promotion of the creation of community-owned conservancies and campsites. The idea being that to attract tourists, the community must preserve their natural resources. Additionally jobs will be created within the community.

On our first night, we stayed outside of Keetmanshoop at a beautiful community-owned campsite situated on the Fish River next to a natural hot spring. However, we learned from Bernardus, the owner, that the campsite rarely gets visitors. Both he and a representative from the Ministry of Environment and Tourism we spoke with seemed to think that one of the major problems for campsites in the South is a lack of marketing. From what I have seen at both our first campsite and the second community-owned campsite we stayed at outside of Berseba, I do agree with this. At the first campsite, there was only a small sign at the turnoff advertising it. Bernardus said that in order to have a large road sign, they would have to register with the Namibian Tourism Board, which costs a fee that the campsite does not have the money to pay.

But, even beyond the marketing issue, I think there are larger hurdles for community-owned ventures in the South. The campsite outside of Keetmanshoop, although scenic, may not have the natural resources to be a big draw for tourists. Unlike the more successful conservancies in the Kunene region that we have read about, they do not have Big Five animals (lions, elephants, buffalos, rhinos and leopards). Furthermore, private companies run many of the lodges and campsites on these conservancies. In addition to having more startup capital, private companies also have the benefit of employees specifically trained in hospitality and tourism.

We got to see firsthand some of the benefits of the private sector at our last campsite, Gondwana’s Kalahari Anib Lodge. Gondwana has begun to repopulate the area with animals, which is a draw for visitors. The lodge also has a pool, running water and other amenities. A representative from Gondwana talked to us in depth about Gondwana’s large focus on the environment. As much as I like the idea of conservancies, I think, because of their greater resources and ability to hire employees trained in conservation, private lodges might be more equipped to conserve the natural resources. However, one of the large benefits I see to the conservancy model is that it allows the community to continue to have control of the land and farm as well as preserve the natural resources.

From what I have learned and seen so far, I think that for the less successful community campgrounds in the South, a possible solution is to have a partnership with a private company. Another option might be that the government needs to find a different program to incentivize preserving natural resources for some communities. What I have gathered from this is that community-based tourism cannot be a one-size-fits-all solution for all the different communities in Namibia.