We are glad to report that the first issue of the !Khwa ttu Newsletter proved a huge success after a few initial stumbling blocks with the distribution of the digital version. Please refer to ‘Readers’ views” which summarizes the feedback the !Khwa ttu team has received from far and near.

Since the approach of the articles was well received by the readers we will continue basing the article’s content on interviews with representatives of the !Khwa ttu chief role players. To communicate the views of the San and the visitors on latest developments at the Culture and Education Centre we consider as one of the essential aims of the newsletter.

This issue will be the last before the end of 2006 and thus we would like to take this opportunity to thank all friends of !Khwa ttu for their support, constructive criticism, suggestions and continued interest in !Khwa ttu’s achievements, set-backs and future plans. May we wish you an enjoyable festive season and peace, health, fulfilment, and a good portion of fun for the approaching year 2007.

The !Khwa ttu team
Afrida, Baba, Baba-Rosie, Bets, Carlos, Donika, Francois, Gila, Johan, Kerson, Kondino, Leandra Lienkie, Magdalena, Maria, Mary-Ann, Michael, Ollo, Paula, Pieter, Roman, Saartjie and Willem.

www.khwattu.org

The !Khwa ttu team was positively surprised that a considerable number of readers of the !Khwa ttu Newsletter devoted some of their precious time to comment on its contents, layout and format. In general, the text was considered as being informative and lively written and the layout was referred to as simple but appealing. However, the format aroused criticism as the readers who planned to examine a hard copy of the newsletter had to print out 11 pages because of the wide margins. It was suggested to narrow the margin of the pages that follow the cover. We were thankful for this very practical proposal.

It became apparent that the elder San preferred to look at a hard copy of the !Khwa ttu Newsletter instead of peering at a computer screen. They also wished to take a copy home in order to show it around to friends and family.

Here are some of the readers' comments verbatim:

Thank you for the !Khwa ttu Newsletter. Nice to hear that !Khwa ttu seems to go from strength to strength. After my visit there in November 2005 with the other participants in the Stellenbosch conference of the Foundation for Endangered Languages (FEL), the general opinion was that our visit to !Khwa ttu was the high point of our meeting. …
Thank you again for sending me the Newsletter which brought back happy memories to my wife and myself.
All the best to everybody at !Khwa ttu,
Mikael Grut, Writer, Wimbledon, UK

Just received the newsletter - WOW! Things have really transformed since I was there 18months ago.
Tatia Currie, Development Officer, Fair Trade in Tourism South Africa (FTTSA)

Thanks for such a beautiful and informative newsletter. Keep up the good work.
Joram |Useb, Co-ordinator: Working Group of Indigenous Minorities in Southern Africa, (WIMSA), a regional San organization based in Windhoek, Namibia

I have only today been able to access the new newsletter and find it very well presented!
Irene Staehelin, President: Ubuntu Foundation, Switzerland

I thought it [the !Khwa ttu Newsletter] a fine document. The story on the March opening of !Khwa ttu was excellent, as were
a number of the other articles. It is neat to see what is going on there. And it is exciting to hear about the various perspectives of San themselves.
It is very professionally done, and very balanced and well-illustrated.
Robert Hitchcock, Chair of the Anthropology Department of the Michigan State University, East Lansing, USA

This newsletter is excellent!
I have no suggestions at this stage for improvement. The photos help to bring it alive, and the writing is good.
Well done team.
Roger Chennells, Legal Advisor to the San, Cape Town, South Africa

I thought the newsletter was amazing! Congratulations!
Meryl-Joy Schippers, Co-ordinator: South African San Institute (SASI), a San support organization, based in Kimberley, South Africa

Thank you for sending your newsletter, which I am forwarding to some friends. I look forward to trying the restaurant in the near future.
Lynne Aschman, Cape Town, South Africa

“When I heard about the UN Indigenous Fellowship Programme I was at a stage where I was looking for a new challenge. I thought that’s it; I will learn a lot about human rights and be together with other indigenous people for a long time, not just for a three-day long conference,” with these explanations Baba Festus - one of the first employees at !Khwa ttu and former WIMSA trainee - begins her interview about an extensive four-month training course held in Geneva, Switzerland and sponsored by the UN office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Since one of the course objectives was the familiarisation with all of the major UN programmes Baba and her four fellow trainees from Kenya, Columbia, Nepal and Australia were delighted that this meant an internship at UNESCO in Paris and their attendance at both the 24th session of the UN Working Group On Indigenous Populations (UNWGIP) in Geneva and the 5th of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (PF) in New York. “I have watched many programmes on TV about that city and it was a dream come true when we were chosen as admin assistants for the PF. Okay, New York is not as beautiful as Paris but the people are easy going and it was a great feeling to stand right in front of the Liberty Statue. The PF was a bit overwhelming, so many sessions were held at the same time and we were very busy writing lists and photocopying documents.”

Obviously, Geneva was a totally different kind of experience as Baba elaborates “the two weeks at the office of the International Labour Organisation had a deep impact on me. I always thought that I was poor but the things I learned at the ILO have opened my eyes and I now have realised that I am actually privileged. I have choices and therefore I am rich. Real poor people have to spend all their energy on their survival and actually don’t have choices. And the other important insight I have gained is that poverty can mean something totally different for each community.” However, Baba has not lost hope as the trainees worked with Birgitte Feiering, the Chief Technical Advisor to the ILO on a project proposal for training in poverty reduction which might be held at !Khwa ttu in 2007. “It would be really great if the training could happen at !Khwa ttu. Then many of us will understand what can be done about poverty reduction, also among the San,” Baba concludes her report on this chapter of the training.

Asked for revealing which of the newly acquired knowledge and skills she would declare most important, she wisely muses, “a lot happened in a short time during this training and it is really difficult to prioritise so soon after my return to !Khwa ttu. I certainly want to share with other San what I have learned about UN structures and organisations such as UNESCO, which I visited in Paris, UNICEF, UNITAR AND UNWGIP.” However, Baba is convinced that not only the content of the lectures were important but also the training methods. In this regard she does not hesitate a minute to pick the best mode. She thinks, “if there is no interaction between the lecturer and the trainees and you are only fed information, they will enter one ear and disappear from the other. The trainees must be allowed to participate and ask questions. Though I could pose questions only when I was already familiar with the issue. Otherwise I could have asked silly questions only. Anyway, to do practical things is the best way to learn something.”

Two of the most important practical exercises Baba experienced were carrying out research assignments and preparing lectures on San organisations, programmes and projects. The latter was done for law students from the USA, who visited the UN offices in Geneva as part of their university course. In retrospect Baba ponders, “to do research was sometimes difficult. We used the Internet a lot and were even permitted to use internal UN files in order to find out which Human Rights treaties our countries have already signed and which treaties still need to be ratified. I was not aware of all these issues. Now I know so much more about South Africa and Human Rights.”

In Baba’s view, other San should also apply for the UN Indigenous Fellowship Programme, as “there is still a lot we, the San, do not know. We need to be made aware of ways to ask for assistance if we can’t help ourselves.”

Baba’s expectations of interacting with other indigenous people not only on an intellectual level but also socially were fully met. The Kirat Chamling woman from Nepal, the Ogiek man from Kenya, the Wayu woman from Columbia and the Arrente Aboriginal woman from central Australia worked with Baba, the ‡Khomani woman from the southern Kalahari in South Africa in a true team spirit. They acquainted one another with their respective cultures, personal anecdotes and their peoples’ hope, constraints and prospects. At the end of the interview Baba’s thoughts seem far away and indeed she dreams on “Nepal must be a fantastic place. One day, I might visit my friend Bandana and her people high up in the mountains. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?”

Only a few months after its official opening, the !Khwa ttu Culture and Education Center is already renowned as a place, where a visitor can get historical and contemporary information about the San of the Southern African region. It has been praised for the professionalism and openness of its San guides, who share their knowledge with the visiting tourists; for the exquisite craft shop, which displays unique San crafts; for the exceptional current photo exhibition on rock art; and for the sensitive restoration of the old farm buildings, which provide accommodation, a training and conference centre, offices, and a restaurant.

Another bonus for the !Khwa ttu guests is the relaxed atmosphere in a tranquil fynbos environment. These peaceful vibes are felt particularly at the premises west of the Centre, where an old cottage was transformed into a gorgeous little bush house. Not far from the cottage the San are currently building a unique Tented Bush Camp.

At the moment, the site is a hive of activities, as everything has to be perfect before the opening of the Camp on 1st December. It is obvious that the San building team and the !Khwa ttu co-ordinator put a lot of thought into the planning of the Bush Camp. Each little detail has been incorporated into the natural environment as much as possible. This does not mean that the visitor has to abandon any comfort. On the contrary, although the showers have been installed under the shadow-spending branches of a picturesque tree the guests will enjoy hot and cold water. The five comfortable-sized tents, which house four beds, are hidden under a protective pole-roof with a little, well-designed patio at the entrance. The circular, semi-roofed boma [enclosure] with its central barbecue facilities protects the visitors from wind and sun. Lights along the walkways, at the tents, boma and ablution block are solar-driven. The Bush Camp provides indeed excellent examples of how to use locally available materials and alternative energy recourses to establish a simple but most appealing Tented Bush Camp.

Willem Gooi, the 45-year old ‡Khomani foreman, has had a hand in all the !Khwa ttu buildings, which have been restored and constructed since its inception in 1999. Willem talks very humbly about his numerous artisan skills and clarifies, “Yes, I know how to build houses, how to erect fences and maintain them and how to build a boma. I also estimate the quantities of materials which are needed here.” The younger !Xun-speaking Gilla Dala from Platfontein, who joined the !Khwa ttu team in 2001 is equally modest when it comes to his abilities and handiness. Although he tremendously enjoyed constructing shelters with natural materials he admits, “I mostly like to renovate old houses.”

According to comments by occasional visitors to the building site it can be anticipated that the !Khwa ttu Bush Camp will soon be very popular among people, who look for an ideal place for team building, corporate functions, special group outings, school class excursions and family reunions. The price has been set at Rand 1500 per night for the entire group, which can consist of up to 20 people or R300 per tent that sleeps 4 people. Guests can choose between booking a full board package and requesting the catering of breakfast or lunch or dinner. They also have the available options of either eating at the stunning! Khwa ttu restaurant or catering for themselves. The opportunity to blend the exceptional peacefulness of the Bush Camp with the wealth of activities offered at the !Khwa Centre, which is just a two-minute drive across the R 27, will make this experience unforgettable.

(The Tented Bush Camp can be booked at tel: +27(0) 22 492 2998 or email: info@khwattu.org)

Once again Baba Festus was looking for a challenge when she accepted the offer to work in the !Khwa ttu Restaurant in collaboration with her colleague Alfrida Jackson. “I know, it is a total career move but I am really looking forward to learning a lot of new things. I love cooking new dishes and I want to learn all about baking, but I don’t want to do it eight hours a day, every day. So it is good that I have also to be a polite hostess, an effective organiser, a trustworthy team leader, a problem solver, altogether, a people’s person and that I am,” Baba summarises when asked why she took on the job and what is expected of her.

Ouma Saartjie Munawgo and her colleague Donika Dalla, who work as kitchen assistants, form a cheerful, co-operative team with Baba and Alfrida. Some weeks ago they all attended a brief training at the Hotel School in Cape Town where they learnt how to set a table and from which sides to serve what to the customers. Currently the team enjoys the intensive training in the well-equipped kitchen by Marc, the consultant chef. His sessions encompass a whole range of training components, which have so far included how to prepare sandwiches, salads and light meals. “It is so creative to present dishes with impressive decorations. I have also learnt how to prepare dishes of which I had never heard before.” Baba announces with a promising smile. Many customers have already asked what kind of food the San eat traditionally,” Baba continues. Ouma Saartjie quickly adds, “I know a lot about veldfood, but that is the food we used to eat when I was a teenager and lived in northern Namibia. The flesh of the Mini/xana seed [monkey orange or Strychnos pungens] is very tasty. You must eat it with a stick not with a spoon and we should get it from Namibia and Botswana.” There are many more delicious meals and drinks, which the San prepare from fruits, seeds, nuts and tubers. The Kalahari truffles, ostrich eggs and the Hoodia gordonii are probably the most famous San food items. The majority of the veldfood is only available in certain seasons and should be eaten within a certain period but some plants, such as the Tsamma melon can be stored for quite a while. “For now we have to concentrate on how to cook the meals on our current menu well, learn how to bake rolls, pastry and cakes. Marc told us that baking brings the best out of him, so I am sure we will learn an awful lot. It’s a pity that Alfrida and Donika can’t be here today, otherwise they would also tell you how much they are looking forward to the training in baking,” Baba takes over the conversation.

Since the !Khwa ttu San Culture and Education Centre is located between vineyards of the Western Cape the restaurant team and their trainer will soon visit some of the renowned cellars in the Darling area and familiarise themselves with terms such as bush and trellised vine, shiraz, cabernet and pinotage wines. “It is so important to be able not only to answer the questions about San culture and our lives today but also the queries about the wine we offer and even about other important places for the tourists. There is so much to learn, therefore we are glad that after Marc has to return to his own business a Swiss chef will come and continue with our training” Baba underlines.

“We had a lot of discussions with many people about the right way for the restaurant. Now Alfrida and I have been chosen to run it with the assistance of our mentors. I believe I can make a difference. If things will work out I have learned a lot about my capabilities and myself. If the restaurant will be a setback I have to realise my limits. However, I have the feeling the restaurant will be a success.” Most of !Khwa ttu’s stakeholders share Baba’s and her team’s view as they have only seen improvements since the restaurant was open two months ago.

The young San men and women, who receive training and work at !Khwa ttu call Korokagho, Carlos and Saartjie Munawgo oupa and ouma [granddad and grandma] to honour their wisdom. Being born in Angola, having lived in their youth in Namibia, being awarded South African citizenship in 1991, and having worked at !Khwa ttu for the last five years Korokagho and Saartjie have indeed accumulated a wealth of knowledge and experience.

Three of their six children are attending the small !Khwa ttu Community School while their oldest boy continues his formal education at the !Xunkhwesa Combined School at Platfontein near Kimberley. “The school at Platfontein is huge, there are more than 1000 pupils and they attend classes from pre-school to grade 12,” Korokagho reflects. “The children have computer classes and for a while the assistant teachers taught the Khwe children in their mother tongue. Now money for the assistants has run out and the teaching in Khwedam has stopped. Here at !Khwa ttu the classes are small and the children get a lot of attention. They are also taught about their culture.” Korokagho is very passionate about mother-tongue instruction in the first school grades.

Educationalist would whole-heartedly agree with him as it has been proven that children understand new concepts, express themselves and communicate their experiences and knowledge significantly better in their home language than in a foreign idiom. Consequently mother tongue education improves their learning achievements. In order to be able to efficiently teach in the San children’s mother tongues, trained teachers are needed and sufficient culturally appropriate teaching and learning aids have to be developed. Currently there are neither enough qualified San teachers nor have adequate teaching and learning aids been produced for most of the 13 San languages.

Korokagho, Saartjie and the other parents at !Khwa ttu are fully aware of the complications, which often make mother tongue instruction at school impossible. “Therefore it is so important to teach our culture and traditions at school. Yes, children must go to school to get a job and work in an office, but they must not forget about their culture and they must tell other people about it.” Korokagho reiterates his plea by continuing “it is important to respect and show San culture. I always say to the young ones, ‘Don’t throw your culture away, it is important!’” Saartjie shares this view by proudly emphasising that she would not only teach San music at the familiar, small !Khwa ttu school but also at any other school which San children attend.

Parents at !Khwa ttu appreciate the family-like atmosphere Bets Daiber, the school manager has created. They consider meetings with teachers and their fellow parents to be essential as they provide an opportunity to answer and pose questions, learn about their children’s social and academic performance, and to discuss plans and changes. Saartjie is convinced that parents should be involved in as many school matters as possible so that “we can motivate our children and walk with them the whole path.”

Traditionally well-educated Saartjie suspects some youth to perceive her and other elder San as ‘dom’[uneducated] as they have enrolled in schools for a few years only. However, she is not too worried as “our children share with us what they have learned at school. They translate documents for us and even teach us English.” Although she does not say so but it is apparent how proud she is of her children enjoying both traditional and formal education.

On 20th October 2006 a group of twenty grade 10 students and their teachers from the Constantia Waldorf School in Cape Town visited the !Khwa ttu Culture and Education Centre. Two of the students were assigned by the grade 10 guardian, Felinda de Bruin to reflect in an interview upon their impressions of what they saw and heard at the centre.

At the beginning of the interview Dominique Otto and Matthew Harris willingly provided some background information about their school. In fact, they were full of praise for its concepts by emphasising that the “Waldorf School respects individuality” and “allows us to be ourselves.” Matthew and Dominique also highlighted that their school offers various craft subjects, such as metal work, basket weaving, ceramics and wood work, “which teach you a lot about your capabilities and your limits.” The small classes, which consist on average of 25 students, are taught most subjects in grades 1 to 7 by a class teacher. However, at high school level the students are led by a guardian and in addition taught by a number of subject teachers. In some subjects the classes are involved in main lessons, which focus on a certain topic from as many angles as possible. This multifaceted approach enables the students to place the topic in a context and analyse correlations between various aspects.

Since the current main lesson in the subjects History and Afrikaans was ‘Ancient Africa’ the class’ guardian suggested to visit !Khwa ttu. Dominique and Mat agreed with one another that it is “important for us to learn about the background of our [South African] culture, to go back to the actual roots.” When asked what they had learned from the San guides Dominique referred instantaneously to the San’s languages as she had been under the impression that all San communities of Southern Africa spoke one language only. ”It’s really cool to meet the people who can actually speak the languages!” she mused admirably. Their other remarkable insights were all linked to the San’s hunting tools and their traditional way of igniting a fire. “I was impressed to learn about the way they hunt; to actually see - not read about it - the stuff they use to catch for example guinea fowls. It makes me feel I wish I could live like that,” Dominique pondered.

However, Mat and Dominique have realised that the San are not anymore able to practise their traditional hunting skills because “with all the cities and the white people displacing them” they were dispossessed of their basis when “they lost their land.”

Of all the information and presentations Dominique and Mat had experienced at !Khwa ttu both liked the fact that “the guys who work here are still being true to their roots and proud of their culture; they actually show people their culture and don’t hide it away.” Consequently they will tell their friends about this most valuable excursion as Mat and Dominique are convinced that “more people should come here and see what happens now and what did happen. A lot of people don’t actually know.”

The atypical overcast sky on the evening of 7 December 2006, could not spoil the mood of any of the parents and invited guests gathered at the !Khwa ttu training centre for the end-of-year school celebration. The enchanting programme, the students and teachers of the !Khwa ttu Community School had put together during the last four week, caught the spectators’ attention from the first to the last second.

The entrance point of the programme was an eye-catching art exhibition. Everyone agreed that this “magnificent art”, “brilliant pictures” and “stunning sculptures” were the products of both the children’s creativity and the skills of Adri Van Aswegen- Janse van Vuuren. She explained to a spellbound audience the wide variety of techniques and range of different materials she has familiarized the students with during her weekly sessions. “It’s all about the process and not the product”, Adri emphasized. She obviously succeeded in the process of encouraging each child to reflect her/his imagination and experiences in each individual piece of art. At the end of the presentation Adri and her students surprised Baba Rosie, Ollo, Mary-Ann, Lisa and Bets – the school co-ordinator, teachers and assistant teachers – with a present of beautifully assembled purple batik clothes.

The lively performance took off with the appropriate song ‘I am special’ presented with a lot of verve by the pre-school and grades 1 and 2 pupils. The better the children acted out songs such as “This is the way we go to school” the more fun had their parents. Some of the fathers thought that “the old man and woman dance was most interesting. It showed how to respect your grandparents and that it is very important because they teach you the value of life”. Each of the mothers had her own favourite song. “I enjoyed the song about the role we, the parents play in our children’s life”, said Paula and Linkie mused “the song about the girls and boys was the most enjoyable song for me”. Hearty laughter filled the room when the children imitated the sounds and movements of numerous animals, which masks hid their faces. Hundreds of photos were taken and the little ones were delighted by the thrilled applause they earned after each performance.

The spectators’ enthusiasm did not diminish a bit when the grades 3 and 4 students took to the stage. Maria, mother of 3 boys, considered the story about the San’s history as “something very special. Special, because it also talks about the Xhosa, the Dutch the English and all the others, which the San met later on”. While the well-assembled ‘history lesson’ was read in Afrikaans by the students’ teacher Mary-Ann and translated by two of the fathers into Khwedam and !Xun respectively, the learners acted it out.

The subsequent very cool Hip Hop ‘!Khwa ttu dance’ and a series of traditional dances clearly brought to the forefront the numerous artistic skills of the school children. The pride of feeling at home in both their ancient culture and the contemporary music scene became apparent. The delight, with which the young children and the youth performed together ‘Katako’ (the fat person), ‘Lolo’ (the missing kid, who meets her mom), N!ê (the lion, which swings its tail), ‘Skongo’ (the man, who was looking for a woman) and the Tsama melon dance also underlined the team-building character of this show. Not only were all the school children proudly involved in this performance but also an exceedingly engaged mother, Paula, in her role as choreographer. Another mother and a father accompanied the unique clapping and singing of the students by vehemently beating the drums. Children from the neighbouring village Darling could hardly keep in their seats, adults moved their heads and tapped their feet to the rhythm of the traditional dances and everyone thanked the performers with thunderous applause.

A few hymns sung by the !Khwa ttu choir and a simple reception for the learners, parents, teachers and invited guests at the !Khwa ttu restaurant gave the final polish to a successful evening.