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The !Khwa ttu team is pleased that the readers of our newsletter appreciated the fact that the views of the San have so far been the focus of our articles. In this third issue we would like to give an opportunity to both visitors to !Khwa ttu and San guides to describe their impressions about each other and the centre.

Please feel free to comment on either individual articles or the newsletter as a whole. The most appealing and constructive criticism, conclusions and suggestions will certainly be published in the fourth issue of the !Khwa ttu Newsletter at the end of June 2007.

Enjoy reading the newsletter.

The !Khwa ttu team

www.khwattu.org

I think the newsletter is impressive and it brings you to the reality. How things are described and explained can just let you see !Khwa ttu even though you are in another country.
I mean the picture is painted in such a way that you enjoy where you have never been before. I hope to see such impressive newsletters more in the future and please keep up the good work.
Victoria Harases, Assistant to WIMSA Education Advisor, Windhoek, Namibia

Thanks for the second issue of !Khwa ttu.
Very good and interesting.
Liked to get updated, hear the "readers views" and thoughts and experiences from people at !Khwa ttu.
Seems that !Khwa ttu is getting better and better as an presentation-place for San, and as a place where tourists definitely should visit and stay for a day or two.
Hans Petter Hergum, Norwegian Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Africa

I am very fascinated by the !Khwa ttu Newsletter, You did a great job. This proves that we are moving a step forward every time. Thank you for placing !Khwa ttu on the map. However, we should all keep in mind that there is still a lot to be improved, with all the views and inputs from all different people and organisations.
Collin Louw, !Khwa ttu director and Secretary to the South African San Council, Upington, South Africa

They [the !Khwa ttu Newsletters] are excellent value, not only to us as readers and people interested in !Khwa ttu, but also for all those working there, because they will give them pride in what they do - they have been acknowledged. This seems to us one of the more important elements.
Wouter and Judy van Warmelo, Cape Town, South Africa

The !Khwa ttu newsletter is great!
It is really nice to have achievements in written form so that other people could also share it with us. I also think that this newsletter inspires other people to know how we are still going strong.
Baba Festus, !Khwa ttu Public Relation Officer, Yzerfontein, South Africa

What a very nice newsletter and with such a significant amount of detailed information! Perhaps it should even by shortened a bit for the new reader.
It is wonderful to read what developments have taken place since the period that I was involved in 2000-2001 and to see what tremendous progress has taken place! It would be wonderful to read a bit more on the interest the farm generates, the number of visitors and attention it is getting.
Keep up the good work and we hope to remain in touch.
Rein Dekker, Director of International Programmes, ZOA Refugee Care, The Netherlands

Statement:
I have visited !Khwa ttu twice, and now have the chance to see this wonderful update Newsletter. !Khwa ttu is a center for much-needed training, and it is also a place for healing and for cultural revivification. I feel that the founding vision of this center has not only been realized but remains open to expansion and full development by the San people themselves. In particular, I celebrate !Khwa ttu's striking location on the west coast, where the richness of San culture, and the landscape in which it is embedded, are constant reminders of the San's long and dignified tenure in southern Africa.
May the San of today always take pride in this place.
Megan Biesele, Director: Kalahari Peoples Fund, USA

The 17th of January 2007 marked one of the most important days in the lives of 13 San children from !Khwa ttu. Excited, a bit anxious and anticipating something quite different from their small !Khwa ttu Community School the children of grades 1 to 4 stood with their parents in front of the huge entrance of the Darling Primary School.

While the !Khwa ttu Education Co-ordinator led the group to their new teachers in front of the classrooms the hand of young Elisabeth slipped in the assuring grip of one of the adults. She loosened up when grade 1 teacher Carin Smit welcomed her group, asked them to hang their bags under their name tags and surprised them with her invitation to play for a while outside before it would be time to gather for the school assembly at the hall

There the principal addressed a packed audience of about 350 learners in their impeccable school uniforms – girls to the right and boys to the left – and attentive parents of the grade 1 children. He enthusiastically asked the young people: “Do you want to turn a new page this year, a new page in your life?” and reminded the “new parents” in his special welcome to be “an example for your children”. When the grade 1 children were invited to join the teachers on stage, cameras and mobile phones clicked frantically as everyone wanted to catch this moment for the future.

Back at the grade 1 classroom, the eyes of 39 children curiously toured the room full of colourful nursery rhyme posters, the alphabet and number charts on the walls and the shelves furnished with books, Lego and art material. They were noticeably not only surprised by their bright classroom but also by being called ‘angels’ and ‘Engeltjies’ in order to differentiate between the children, who chose English as the medium of instruction and those, who selected Afrikaans.

>After 17 children left for their English classes the teacher prepared the rest of the class for their initial lesson in reading. First they coloured in Vlooi, the boy, who is the main character in their reader and then they gathered in the reading corner and sat on the cosy carpet, where they commented on the pictures of the book Juffrou Carin read to them. Denver and Dillon, two of the San boys were very keen to make their voices heard, whereas the other two San boys and girls were extremely shy to talk. Although the class teacher gave reasons why rules had to be adhered to in “a big school” it was not easy at all for some learners - among them the San children - to cross their legs, not to lean against the wall, keep their hands together, to look at the teacher when she talked to them, only to get up when asked to do so and to stand in a line. Till their first day at the government school the San children had enjoyed the freedom of their traditional upbringing, which permits them to speak their mind whenever they want.

Nevertheless, when interviewed during the !Khwa ttu after-school care about their first day at the Darling Primary School all grade 1 San children highlighted that they enjoyed attending their new school. Michael emphasised: “I liked my first school day because my teacher is nice” and Dillon added: “I liked listening to the story’. Jolanda, as most of her fellow learners took pleasure in school because “I played” and Denver thought it was important that “I got a letter for my mom and dad”. Raymond was the only child, who stressed the very first reading lesson by remarking: “When I came home I told my dad and mom that we read words about Vlooi”.

Although the children have obviously fond memories of their first school day Elisabeth’s conclusion was ‘I liked my school [the !Khwa ttu Community School] more because we were free here’; this certainly provides food for thought.

Although Thomas Portmann is still a young man of 30 years of age, he has already successfully passed two apprenticeships as a chef and waiter respectively, studied at the Hotel Management School in Zürich and gained valuable experience as the assistant to the director in two well-known hotels in Switzerland. After a four-month spell in Cape Town in 1998, one of his dreams was to return “to one of the most beautiful cities in the world”.

When he was made aware of the vacancy at the !Khwa ttu restaurant, he successfully applied for the position. Thomas threw himself with enormous energy and freshness into the manifold job. His main objective is to train both his counterpart Afrida Jackson and the waitress Baba-Rosie Vilander. His plan is to combine practical training sessions with lessons in food science and hospitality. Thomas stresses: “The most important thing is that the present staff do not lose their ability to create a relaxed atmosphere and add more professionalism”. He elaborates: “I am not sure if it will be possible to train Afrida in everything about cooking and running a kitchen before I leave in 18 months. She will certainly know the basics in all relevant areas and then she could continue her training as a chef”. Thomas thinks: “It would be better to train two counterparts but the current problem is that there is no accommodation for additional staff members”.

The new chef has already changed the menu “to attract more clients and we prepare all dishes ourselves, ice cream and cakes included”. For the convenience of the clients the new menu has also been placed on the !Khwa ttu website.
After the first four weeks in his job Thomas is full of ideas and has already looked into the numerous indigenous spices, which could give a special flavour to one or the other dish. In the near future he intends to both familiarize himself with food the San gather and explore the possibility which items would be viable to transport to, prepare and serve at the !Khwa ttu restaurant.

Every morning Thomas looks forward to his multi-facetted tasks. “My colleagues are friendly and motivated, a good basis for professionalism”, he smiles.

Communication and heritage are the most important reasons why the seven San tour guides at !Khwa ttu chose this profession. Carlos Munawgo, the oldest among the group undoubtedly regards it his mission “to teach the tourists what I learned from my parents”. His eyes sparkle when he explains that story telling is his passion. “I would like the tourists to remember me as an old man and as a good story teller, so that they want to come back and listen to more of my stories”. He fondly recalls the visit of two young Brazilian women, who were extremely interested in his first two decades of his life when he had his home in southern Angola. “I enjoyed their visit so much, they had many, many questions and the good thing was, that I could talk to them directly, because their mother tongue was Portuguese” [which he also speaks fluently]. Carlos chats openly about the “bad and the good tourists”. “The good ones are those who are prepared to listen to us but the bad ones don’t believe us, because they think everything that is written in books about us is correct. They don’t’ want to listen to what we say”.

Carlos critical views are shared by the other guides. Kondino Samba believes that “their [the tourists] questions are good because then they get to know the real things about the San.” It is important for the San guides to rectify some misconceptions about their fellow San. “The tourists look at me and can’t believe that I am a San because I am quite tall”, laughs Johan Vaalbooi and he adds: “A lot of our visitors use the word Khoisan and we [the guides] explain to them about the big difference between Khoi and San”. Another area, where the majority of tourists are misinformed is the language issue. “I think the tourists from South Africa know about the 11 official languages in our country but they don’t know that the South African San speak already three different language, !Xun, Khwedam and N|u”. It is crucial for Roman Ndeja to set the record straight about the 13 San languages spoken by San in Angola, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia and South Africa. When he writes them down on the white board at the Boma while the tourists sip their soft drinks discussions become often very lively. “The tourists have repeatedly asked if they could bring school classes to !Khwa ttu so that the children can learn about our languages”, Roman points out proudly. “They also want to know if our languages are actually taught at schools”. Then he adds with a mischievous grin “It is so funny when the tourists try to say the clicks; they try and try many times to say !Khwa ttu but it is very difficult for them”.

A year of experience dealing with international and local tourists, workshop participants, wedding groups, school classes and university students has strengthened the guides’ confidence. “I feel much more confident, since I have learned a lot from talking to the tourists”, says Johan with a winning smile. And Kerson Jackson feels very positive about the opportunity to not only provide information about San affairs but also to hear about the culture of the tourists “from far away”. Grukie Thys takes pride in his knowledge about both plants and tracking game since he realised how much the tourists appreciate his understanding of nature.

However, Carlos, Grukie, Johan, Pieter, Kerson, Roman and Kondino frankly admit that there is always room for improvement. Johan would like “to learn more about the San in other countries”, and Carlos would like “to know more about the present, because I missed out on things when I was in the army”. All of them have sometimes difficulties with the tourists’ various English accents and do not always grasp the meaning of the tourists’ questions. Logically they conclude: “We must continue with our training”.

They have also a clear picture of how they want the visitors to remember !Khwa ttu. Johan certainly speaks from the bottom of their hearts, when he wraps up: “I want the tourists to tell their family and friends that !Khwa ttu is a very special place because here they learn about our culture and history”.

During the last six months since the restaurant opened its doors in October 2006, almost 3000 visitors enjoyed the !Khwa ttu amenities. Many of them would agree with the Cape Townian, who expressed his surprise ”that there was a lot more than I thought it would be by just looking at the board” [sign board at the centre’s entrance]. Indeed, !Khwa ttu offers a wide range of attractions from an interactive San-guided experience to an exceptional craft shop, a stunning restaurant and a diverse offer of accommodation.

Whether national and international tourists, African workshop participants or student groups from the US and Canada they unanimously admired the authenticity of the San culture they experienced. An Australian student put it this way: ”!Khwa ttu is incredibly important. This is an opportunity for the San to take control of their heritage and share it with others in a way they can feel proud of. They are directly involved and it is not an exhibition about them which is a very positive step”.

Obviously each guest would like the San guides to focus on her/his field of interest, may this be languages, medicinal plants, oral history, tracking game or contemporary San issues. Expectations to hear as much detailed information as possible about the San’s past and “contemporary issues confronting the communities” are high and the tourists certainly wish to try out almost all of the tools at the replica traditional San village. Depending on the level of their own knowledge about the San, some visitors hoped that “more in-depth information could be given on the history of the San and the difference between the San and the Khoi”. Others emphasised that “it would have been nice if the hiking trail could have given more information about the San way of life in the past and today”, although there was no doubt in their minds that “the hiking trail concept is really good as it is a way of enabling people to connect with the land and the San and their experiences”. On various occasions tourists pointed out that “it would be great to have both male and female guides” and quite a number of travellers thought: “If you actually saw them [San women] making the San jewellery it would make you buy more. You appreciate it more”. For many of the experienced travellers, who could compare this experience with many others, it was important to point out that “the guides’ personal involvement could certainly be felt” and that their explanations had a “genuine character”.

Equally enthusiastic were the comments on the food and service at the restaurant. Praises about “the really welcoming people”, the “excellent food” and the “superb” ambience of the restaurant were often sung. And some of the forthcoming visitors were not shy to suggest in the future to include game dishes and if possible “San food” in the menu.

Observations about the photo gallery were a bit scarce although the general tenor was that it displays “spectacular images of rock art”. However, a number of international tourists proposed adding “more facts and figures about the San to supplement the exhibition” and that it “could be extended to cover themes of San communities in the past and present”.

Not a single tourist seemed to pass the !Khwa ttu craft shop without entering it. The visitors devoted a lot of attention to the unique ostrich eggshell necklaces and bracelets, took their time to page through the numerous books on San and often discussed whether they should also buy a bow and arrow as a special memory of the hunting stories they had just heard.

Animated by the guest book waiting for them on their way out the visitors to !Khwa ttu often try to summarize the wealth of impressions on San culture. Time and again they have emphasised that !Khwa ttu “must not lose its ‘specialness’” and “it must stay authentic”. One elderly man from Cape Town put it this way: “ … what a nice place to come to just to refresh your memory and remember where it [history] all started”.

On 14 March 2007, the !Khwa ttu Annual General Meeting [AGM] took place at the centre’s inviting conference room. Mathambo Ngakaeja, WIMSA Botswana co-ordinator, in his role as chairperson led the 22 participants in a friendly but firm manner through the procedures of the meeting. He expressed his delight that more San than in previous years had been able to have an opportunity “to share the !Khwa ttu dream”. A delegation of 13 San representatives had travelled to !Khwa ttu to attend the signing ceremony of the benefit-sharing agreement between the Southern African Hoodi Growers Association and WIMSA on 15 March, and thus they were able to take part in the !Khwa ttu AGM too.

After the annual report on !Khwa ttu’s activities presented by the centre’s manager Michael Daiber, a special vote of gratitude for the Ubuntu Foundation’s continuous commitment to !Khwa ttu was directed at Irene Staehelin, the Foundation’ president, who had flown all the way from Switzerland to join the AGM.

The focus of the event formed a strategic brainstorming session facilitated by Alfred Legner, who succeeded Tessa Graff as trustee member. He explained that this exercise would entail to turn from the “!Khwa ttu dream to reality”. Soon keywords such as crime, availability of funds, laws and policies, political stability in southern Africa, WIMSA’s future, prospects of cultural tourism and competition from other ethnic groups covered the flip chart. According to the fourth annual edition of State of the Nation, South Africa 2007 by the Human Sciences Research Council, !Khwa ttu is in fact competing with about 40 cultural villages across the country. The publication underlines: ”They are all built on the conviction of ethnic uniqueness, and consider that they are providing knowledge of both tangible and intangible indigenous heritage”.

However, the participants’ discussion of various scenarios - from the worst-case to the best possible and the most likely - made it clear that the objective of not only educating the public about the San’s past and present but also training the San in numerous relevant areas made !Khwa ttu a rather unique place. Therefore, it was stated, the partnership with WIMSA representing the San of the region has been and will be essential in the future.

The recommendations for a future strategy included: intensifying the promotion of !Khwa ttu abroad, extending accommodation facilities, raising further funds and studying cultural museums on a tour through Namibia and Botswana. The San participants stressed once again the importance of training for San community members and the continuation of appointing San counterparts with suitable qualifications. Irene Staehelin in her personal statement also emphasised that ”the future of the San lies in education”. She promised to discuss possible funding for additional accommodation so that more San women and men from the region could be trained at !Khwa ttu. She thanked the AGM participants for their trust in her.

On the other hand the San participants ensured both the Ubuntu Foundation and the !Khwa ttu management of their continuous support for the centre. Andries Steenkamp, chairperson of the South African San Council said: “I really believe in !Khwa ttu; if I had money I would invest it here”. And Victoria Harases from the regional WIMSA office in Namibia explained: “when I came here the first time and I saw the old buildings I felt a bit negative; but when I came now, I thought I am actually in Cape Town. In the future I will bring all the San crafts from Namibia to !Khwa ttu”. Equally encouraging words came from Dominga Namiseb from Platfontein, who thought that ”!Khwa ttu should be very successful so that other San projects in Namibia and Botswana can also grow”.

Wise words about the necessity of cooperation, consensus and unity by Andries Steenkamp and an in-depth prayer by Petrus Vaalbooi ended an idea-brimming AGM.

Lientjie Thys, Maria Kabembe and Paula Armandus, who make up the cleaning force at !Khwa ttu, have already spend many happy years at the Culture and Education Centre. Lientjie and Maria decided to respond positively to the recruitment call send by the !Khwa ttu management to the !Xun and Khwe San communities at Schmidtsdrift and the ‡Khomani in the Kalahari a number of years ago. ”Yes, I remember, a friend, who lived in my village in the Kalahari told me about !Khwa ttu,’’ Lientjie recollects the beginning of her journey. Curious as ever, she decided to see for herself what was happening at this amazing place so many of her fellow ‡Khomani were talking about back in 1999. The setting appealed to her and she was extremely glad that she and her sister Ollo passed the job interviews so that they could stay at !Khwa ttu with Lientjie’s three sons. Maria, who is originally from Namibia and moved with her family to Schmidtsdrift near Kimberley in 1990, visited !Khwa ttu after fellow San, who worked already at the centre had told her about job vacancies. She was equally fortunate as Lientjie in being successful with her job interview. Paula, also a Khwe woman from Schmidtsdrift accompanied her husband Kondino, who works as a local guide at !Khwa ttu.

Paula, Maria and Lientjie together with the kitchen assistants ouma Sartjie Munawgo and Donika Dala have recently participated in a training workshop on effective cleaning. “We have actually learned new things. For example it is best to always start with the ceiling and work your way down,” Lientjie explains and Paula continues: “after we have finished our work, we use air freshener so that the rooms smell nice.’

We walk to a small storeroom, where they proudly show their cleaning tools and explain the purpose of each of the various chemicals. Lientjie and Paula are keen to convey that, “it is much cheaper to buy big containers and then fill the detergents into smaller spray bottles. We must be very careful with some of the detergents; they should not enter our eyes and mouths.”

Paula gets their work schedule from the office and Maria describes which days of the week they clean the offices, the photo gallery, the dormitory and the training centre. “The ‘bush house’ and the guesthouse we always clean right after the visitors have left or on days when the wind has blown too much dust into the rooms. The restaurant, kitchen and craft shop are cleaned by Donika and ouma Sartjie,” she reports further.

Paula, Maria and Lientjie take their work quite seriously, “!Khwa ttu is big, there is a lot to clean and we are always busy.” Paula and Maria are “very glad to have a job” and that “we are able to earn money.” Lientjie shares this sentiment and adds with a shy smile “I actually enjoy cleaning very much and am very happy that I get paid for this.”

Since her arrival at !Khwa ttu in June 2003, Ollo Thys has worked as an assistant to the kindergarten teacher. She thoroughly enjoys working with young children and her friendly, caring nature is creating an atmosphere the children obviously thrive in.

This did not go unnoticed with the !Khwa ttu Education Co-ordinator, who offered Ollo to participate in an early childhood education course at Bergzicht College in Stellenbosch, about 120 km south-west of !Khwa ttu. Although being the youngest with 18 years of age among the ten participants from all over South Africa, she soon felt at home. She proudly reports: “They were all so interested in my people’s tradition and also in our language. I told them everything I know about the ‡Khomani”.

“But I also learned a lot”, she continues in her soft-spoken way, “the training modules covered many issues: children’s development, toddler care, teaching methods, the production of learning and teaching aids, children’s literature and how to run a kindergarten. We even had to work out budgets”. The college takes an approach of the total child, focussing on the emotional, intellectual, physical, creative and social stimulation of the infant from day one. The more Ollo remembers about her training the more she becomes animated. There is no doubt in her mind that “the most important I have learned at Bergzicht is to stimulate each child’s abilities and talents”. Her smile disappears for a moment when she emphasises quite seriously: “You must let children speak and the teacher has to be quiet and must listen”.

When Ollo returned from the college after three months, she immediately applied what she had been taught and re-decorated the !Khwa ttu kindergarten. Her own paintings and collages have also found a place on one of the kindergarten walls and they clearly show that painting was her favourite activity at the course.

Not only has the training inspired her artistic talent but it has also made it obvious to her how important the completion of schooling is. Ollo is adamant to finish her formal education by enrolling in distance courses. “I know it will be hard and I have to have a lot of discipline, but if I don’t get my matric I can’t become a children’s doctor one day”, she concludes the interview.