Keeping in mind that the festive season is a demanding time, most of our articles have been kept short. However, brief articles would not have done justice to the outstanding jewellery design workshop and the subsequent 'Pearls of the Kalahari' catwalk. In case that you missed the actual event you will now at least catch a glimpse of the two extraordinary events.

We would like to take this opportunity to wish our readers a relaxed holiday season and a peaceful New Year!

The !Khwa ttu team

www.khwattu.org

The audience of the 'Pearls of the Kalahari' jewellery show on 30 November 2007 could not have been more surprised when the Master of Ceremony's announcement of a dance referred to a passionate Rap performance by three young San men. Andre, Mukose and Steffaans lost all their usual shyness when they danced with much precision to the music they love most. The delighted spectators thanked them with well-deserved applause and cheers of joy. The enchantment continued when the San crafters from Botswana appeared in their traditional clothes and adornments, whose clapping accompanied Namaswa Kikonyane and Mikie Camme's performance of the hunting dance.

This unusual, but eye-catching synthesis of modernity and tradition continued to wind through the entire jewellery show. The spectators - an equally uncommon combination of professionals in the areas of jewellery, culture and fashion from as far a field as Austria and local community members - were captivated by what they experienced. Female and male lay models from !Khwa ttu's neighbouring villages Darling and Yzerfontein presented the new collection of the 'Pearls of the Kalahari' in style. Trained and draped by world-class jewellery designer Mickaël Kra himself in long pieces of flowing chiffon the models gracefully walked bare-foot over the catwalk which had been arranged in the historic building of !Khwa ttu's photo gallery. Even the infectious background music was an amalgamation of South African Jazz musician Pops Mohamed and Namibian !Xõó San singers.

!Khwa ttu proved once again to be an inspirational place for artists. This time its vistas, flair and serenity stimulated both world-renowned jewellery designer Mickaël Kra and 18 San crafters from Botswana, Namibia and South Africa. They met for 12 days at the !Khwa ttu training centre to develop a new collection for the brand 'Pearls of the Kalahari'. Their deep appreciation of each other's artistry and skills resulted in 27 exquisite new jewellery pieces made out of ostrich eggshell beads, leather, porcupine quills, glass beads and semi-precious stones.

!Khwa ttu had provided ideal prerequisites for the workshop by arranging two-hundred metres of smooth ostrich eggshell beads, soft leather pieces in different brown and grey shades, an assortment of high-quality semi precious gemstones, colourful glass beads and by offering a spacious training centre, homely accommodation, food and trips to the Atlantic Ocean and Darling on weekends. The crafters were impressed by the meaningful tasks their fellow San fulfilled at !Khwa ttu and Mickaël Kra called !Khwa ttu "a piece of jewellery."

Since mid-October 2007, visitors to !Khwa ttu are being greeted at the recently built introduction office by charming Andre Lekoa., a !Xun youth, who has been living at !Khwa ttu for a number of years. Besides entering statistical data about the guests Andre hands out an information sheet, which provides an overview of what !Khwa ttu offers and can easily be read on the way to the parking lot.

"My favourite task here is to talk to people. Most people talk in English to me and I understand all their questions but sometimes when I reply I don't have all the English words I need. Then I tell them that I am still learning English," Andre describes part of his job.

The first item on the new menu of the !Khwa ttu restaurant catches one's attention immediately. The 'cold garden pea and mint cappuccino' is certainly not a common occurrence in restaurants on the West Coast and not even in Cape Town. Any patron visiting the !Khwa ttu restaurant should not miss out on this absolutely refreshing starter.

Throughout the new menu scorching hot summer temperatures are met with scrumptious fresh salads, an array of vegetables and exquisite dishes such as 'carrot salad with orange segments, sweet ginger and yoghurt in a pawpaw bowl with a chicken breast turned in orange butter'.

"Linkjie told us about the fire, which started at the bush camp at lunch time on Sunday [18 November 2007]. We informed the neighbours, who arrived quickly although it was a Sunday. We split in six groups and Steyn Marais from Jakkalsfontein was the fire co-ordinator. It was really good that we had just had wildfire fighting training the week before." With these words Grukie Thys began his report on the wildfire, which was caused by disposing barbecue coal in the bush next to the !Khwa ttu bush camp and destroyed seven hectares of 30-year old fynbos vegetation and Port Jackson trees.

A group of 50 well-equipped men from !Khwa ttu and neighbouring farms fought the wildfire for 7 hours. They were joined by the municipal and district fire service an hour after the fire had been reported. After the hotspots and flare ups had been brought under control a smaller group of men from !Khwa ttu continued to mop up the fire until the following evening while the neighbouring farmers were kept on alert.

Baba Rosie Vilander, the young ǂKhomani waitress, whose friendliness has been praised by numerous patrons of the !Khwa ttu restaurant, participated recently in a three-day intensive training workshop. The training focussed on food and beverage service skills and was held for 27 participants at the restaurant of Evita se Perron in the small town of Darling.

After reading the newsletter, I felt like being part of the !Khwa ttu team.
I can see that you guys are doing a tremendous job. Keep up the good work!!! Congratulations!!!
Gerson Nanseb, WIMSA finance administrator, Windhoek, Namibia