01/03/2011. Photograph above kindly supplied by Phillipa Holden.

This page servers to introduce to you the Khomani San Community, their hopes, plans and vision for the future.

Introduction
Aims
Achievements
Support
Urgent Request for Funding
Additional Request for Funding
Making a Donation
The Khomani San Website

Introduction

"We, the Bushman Council, are a duly constituted group representing the Park and Traditional Ward Committees of the Khomani San Communal Property Association. We operate our own office and own bank account with the approval and endorsement of the Traditional leader, Mr Dawid Kruiper, and the South African Department of Rural Development and Land Affairs (represented by Mr Peter Mokomele). 

We are the remnants of several San (Bushman as we call ourselves) clans who once lived freely in the southern Kalahari, Northern Cape Province in South Africa.

Dispossessed of our ancestral land, we rejoiced when the democratic South African Government restored some 36,000 ha of land on farmland, and some 25,000 ha of land within the Kalagadi Transfrontier Park to us in 1999. 

We manage our park land in collaboration with South African National Parks (SANParks) via a Joint Management Board.

We number approximately 700 people, mostly living in a few settlements currently undergoing government planning to provide us with water and housing. 

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Aims

At present, there is a high level of unemployment (over 80%) so we have, despite numerous challenges, developed plans for achieving our vision of a better life for all, which include amongst other things:

• A tourism lodge within the Kalagadi Transfrontier Park (we are currently engaging with private sector partners around lodge development);

• Traditional field schools where our elders transmit language, knowledge and ancient skills to our youth;

• A game farm where guests may view game on foot or by vehicle, track or hunt Bushman-style with us, or visit our 'living museum', which showcases our culture and tradition (craft production, medicinal plant identification, song, dance, story-telling, etc); 

• Health and welfare projects to address pressing social problems affecting many members of our historically disadvantaged community.

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Achievements 

• We have developed a rustic camp on our land in the park and already receive a modest flow of visitors, while we develop management systems and the necessary capacity. 

• Seven of our young women have recently undergone a year's hospitality training at a specialised, accredited Tourism College, and four of our young men are training to be professionally registered field guides. 

• A number of people have trained as game ranch assistants and in tanning and carcass processing and meat hygiene. This in addition to the wealth of knowledge related to the natural environment, tracking and similar skills retained by the elders of our community and being passed on to the youth.

• We have also implemented a resource-monitoring programme, whereby we map medicinal and food plants which are important to us, record all harvesting using a cybertracker, and store this in a GIS database to ensure their sustainable use into the future.

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Support

• In our planning we have been assisted by the African Safari Lodge Foundation, and our technical advisers of some 13 years, David Grossman and Phillipa Holden.

• We have, with the generous support of friends and donors, including the ASLF and Ford Foundation, started our own office which enables us to communicate with our scattered members and other stakeholders, take bookings and arrange guides for visitors to our land in the Park, arrange veld school trips for elders and youth to the park, and generally administer our own affairs. Our meticulous bookkeeping records are open to all community members and we are currently migrating to Pastel Xpress to ensure even more effective financial management.
  
  Our longer-term vision is that income from our lodge in the park and our game ranch as well as other ecotourism enterprises that we are in the process of planning and establishing will cover office operational costs through a booking and management fee.

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Urgent request for funding

As our office funding has now come to an end and in order to keep operating while these ventures are being developed or until other funding can be raised (extremely difficult in these times given general shortage of NGO funds available), we urgently require bridging funds of R14,500 (approximately AU$2,040) per month for approximately nine months to a year to cover:

• Office rental R1,500 per month (approximately AU$210)

• Communications (phone, email, internet, stationery) R1,500 per month (approximately AU$210)

• Travel costs for report-back and planning meetings R1,500 per month (approximately AU$210)

• Stipends for our three office staff, including the GIS operator, office administrator and manager/foreman R10,000 per month (approximately AU$1,400)

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Additional request for funding

• We also require financial assistance for the capture and translocation of indigenous game animals to our game farm, Erin. Some game has kindly been donated to us but we are responsible for payment of such costs and as yet do not have the funds. An amount of approximately R100,000 (approximately AU$14,060) is required for this, and could be paid directly to the capture outfit if preferred. 

• Finally, we would welcome assistance for the urgent drilling and equipping of a borehole and repairing of the fence on our land next to the Kalahari Trans Frontier Park, which we have earmarked as a Traditional Conservation Area. SANParks have kindly donated game to us for this purpose, and we must provide water and repair the fence. An amount of approximately R100,000 (approximately AU$14,060) required for water provision, and R80,000 for fence work (approximately AU$11,250).

• We would be happy for the funds to be administered by the African Safari Lodge Foundation, a registered non-profit organization, on our behalf should that be preferable. The ASLF would furthermore be able to issue a tax certificate in terms of Section 18A of the Income Tax Act making donations channelled through them tax deductable in terms of the Act. "

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Making a donation

If you would like to make a donation, or require any further information, copies of business plans, etc.  please contact us at Just Africa and we will furnish you with the relevant contacts and details. 

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The Khomani San Website

The new Khomani San website is currently in development, so watch this space: www.khomanisan.com