Namibia Ju/’Hoansi San Living Museum

Ju/’Hoansi San: Embracing ancient ways of life

Omandumba - Holed up in the sprawling Erongo Mountains on Omandumba Farm, the San Living Museum is a truly organic reflection of its name, a living, breathing gallery of actual life on the move.

The museum is home to one of Namibia’s oldest and most recognizable tribe, the Ju/’Hoansi San community, and its surrounding areas are also home to historic rock paintings and archaeological findings that were left behind hundreds of years ago by the San, who used to live and hunt there.

Bushmen Walk at Intu Afrika Lodge:

As a result of colonialism, tribal conflicts, and changing weather patterns, the Ju/’Hoansi-San community, who were the first to inhabit the area, were forced to migrate eastwards and more north-eastwards in search of survival elsewhere.

But since 2008, thanks to the assistance of the government and various civil and cultural entities, the Ju/’Hoansi-San people have returned to what was once their happy hunting grounds and are now thriving and making a living through the San Living Museum, which attracts hundreds of local and international tourists annually.

Local media representatives and influencers this week experienced first-hand the wonders of the San Living Museum, thanks to the Namibia Tourism Board (NTB)’s promotional tour of the Damaraland and wider Erongo Region.

The museum offers an interesting insight into the ancient hunter-gatherers’ culture and the traditional ways of the San people and can also witness first-hand how the Ju/’Hoansi San people conduct their traditional hunts.

Other programs at Omandumba are centred around the traditional life of the San within the setting of a village, where the interaction with the visitors is highly valued and acts as a networking opportunity.

The generous elderly San women and young girls offer visitors brief opportunities to learn how to produce jewellery, traditional medicine, bows and arrows, among others.

As can be expected, a rhythmic display of ancient dances, songs, and rituals are always on show at the museum, and the young ones would often be seen on the side-lines playing their games.

On the one hand, the museum has given the San an opportunity to rediscover their old and almost forgotten culture and ways of life, and on the other hand, also serves as a lucrative business for them.

The museum is run entirely by the San, with 90% of the generated income reinvested in the living museum while the 10% goes to farm Omandumba for services rendered to the museum. Apart from the museum, the San also run a small souvenir shop where visitors can purchase handmade jewellery, bows and arrows, axes, tools, and many more.

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The Truth About Namibian Tourism Industry | Правда о туриндустрии Намибии

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Namibian News

The Truth About Namibian Tourism Industry, Tourism Associations And The Cost To The Future Of Namibia

There has been a big debate online on what is really going on in the Namibian tourism industry in Namibia.

If you have not been following closely you should make everything quite obvious on how the N$26 Billion tourism industry has been cornered by a few for their own benefit, at the expense of the rest of Namibian companies and citizens.

From the 5,473 registered companies at Namibia Tourism Board, only a fraction are represented by the associations, who have long kept a close control over the industry, which has denied opportunities to emerging and upcoming Namibian companies and individuals.

ALLEGATIONS of ‘monopolistic capture’ of the tourism sector- pinned down by Covid- have surfaced with some of the Federation of Namibian Tourism Associations (FENATA)’s affiliates claiming exclusion from the representative body.

Key point in the letter is on the 2nd paragraph of the 2nd page:

"Also, the various companies, individuals and tourism entities that fall under the FENATA umbrella are responsible for an estimated 70% of the total tourism revenue in Namibia (in 2019 that was approx. 24,85 Billion N$ contribution towards Namibia’s GDP)."

What they are saying is that from the 5500+ Registered NTB companies, even though only 600 or so are on FENATA affiliated associations, they contributed N$24.85 Billion to the Namibian GDP. This is either completely made up, or it is showing how much of the funds are not really making into Namibia, by these top tier companies that form the associations. There needs to be an indepth audit of the companies that claim to have brought in billions.

Here is another article outlining the core issue amongst the industry, especially the associations:

The article outlines the blatant racism in some of the associations, especially the Tour Guides Association of Namibia, where only 40 White Namibian guides are members, and there are over 2,000 guides in Namibia, a sector that is in fact predominantly black Namibian. And one of the previous vice-chairman has the following to say about TAN:

"Faustin Akilanga, former vice chairperson of the organisation, has however said that there were incidents during his tenure where some white people refused to shake his hand."

Associations have also been solely responsible for the exit of Qatar Airways from Namibia, in favor of direct flights to Germany.

Over 3 decades, since Hospitality Association Of Namibia has been established, it has only a few members that have always been a part of it, while a lot of new members join and soon leave because they do not feel welcome. Having a same CEO since the inception, who has used her political influence to assist these few companies get the majority of the business that HAN facilitates.

HAN is not a registered entity at BIPA, and as an unofficial entity they still get donated millions over the years, which only assist the few in the small group of companies that assist each other. There is a close working syndicate amongst some of these members and associations, who have not only kept the information to themselves, they have also artificially kept the prices of the accommodations higher, to be able to generate more money, which negatively impacts Namibia as a tourist destination as it prevents a lot of tourists from coming in. HAN has not allowed any public entity or audit firm access to their information or accounts, to show where the money is spent or how the funds are generated.

HAN has been boasting about their political support and connections, to further their own agenda, and an entity that thrives on secrecy at the expense of the rest. Of the 130,000 Namibians in the tourism sector, directly and indirectly, there have been intentional efforts by some of the associations to block the flow of information and opportunities to the majority, to maintain their control over the industry happenings.

Any Namibian company or ministry that supports these exclusive clubs are directly supporting the oppression of the local emerging companies and MSMEs. Any funds donated to these associations would help any other tourism company a lot more than giving to groups that are still working on pre-independence mentality, by taking advantage of the Namibian youth, that needs more support now than ever.

All this is happening, while Namibia Tourism Board has been absolutely quiet on everything happening in the industry, and their latest 2019 audited financial statements show that they make N$45 Million in Levies, and pay almost 30 Million in salaries (23.5 Million in Salaries, 5.5 Million in 5 Key Management Costs and Board Fees), if you go through the report, a lot of expenses are focused on a few chosen countries, especially Germany which makes up only 0.98% of the world population, and there are many other unaccounted costs.

Do we really need NTB to do the marketing when they have completely failed as a regulatory authority as well? There is a reason why no establishment has shown correct figures to NTB since Covid19, because no one wants to pay levies on local bookings that do not generate any profits.

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