Port of Call LAST UPDATE March 20, 2010
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January 31, 2010 Walvis Bay, Namibia – Tourism in Tribal Townships
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Approximately 6000 people live in the Democratic Resettlement Community, near Mondesa Township.
The south-west African country of Namibia has become famous for its rippling sand dunes that rise and fall along 1,500 km of the country’s coastline. The moon-like landscape of the Namib Desert, which is easily accessed from the port of Walvis Bay and the resort town of Swakopmund, attracts thousands of visitors and adventure-travellers every year. In many destinations in developing countries around the world, if you travel a bit further away from the hotels and souvenir shops, you’ll find local communities that don’t necessarily benefit from tourism dollars. That reality is changing: Namibia is one place where visitors can learn about life in poor communities and help support local development.

Peace Boat has visited Mondesa Township and the nearby Democratic Resettlement Community (DRC) a number of times, with the help of Hata Angu – a Swakopmund-based company that shares profits with local participants and partner organizations. The 68th Voyage arrived in Namibia on January 31 and visited Mondesa and the DRC with Hata Angu guides Wilfred “Beetle” Goertze and Castro Shangombe.
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Thalita Tjindjo, of the Herero tribe, greeted 68th Voyage participants with a traditional Namibian handshake, at her home in the DRC.
Mondesa was developed as a black settlement in 1960, under South African Apartheid rule, and is home to more than 28,000 people from Namibia’s various indigenous groups, such as the Damara, Nama and Herero. This particular area is not the native land for most of these tribes; many tribe members have migrated from their home regions in search of work. More than 55 per cent of the nation lives on less than $2 USD a day and almost 35 per cent of people on less than $1 USD. “These are people who have come in from different parts of Namibia, in search of greener pastures,” says Beetle. “In fifty per cent of the towns in Namibia they’ve got camps like this.”
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The DRC is developing into a more permanent settlement as more people migrate to Swakopmund in search of work.
In 2001, the government set up the DRC as a temporary transition area for migrants – now home to 6000 people – who hoped to find work in nearby mines. Within 60 kilometers of Mondesa, there are five or six uranium mines, Beetle says, but without training it’s next to impossible to get a job at one of them. As a result, the DRC has become a permanent home for a lot of its residents who cannot afford to move into Mondesa, where the houses are of much better quality and have electricity and running water.
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The “Hardware Store” is a source of materials for more than just the houses: Kids in Mondesa play with toys made of scrap metal scavenged from the dump.
People living in the DRC construct their homes from scrap wood and metal from the nearby rubbish dump: The dump is now popularly known as the “hardware store.” The small, crate-like shanties house as many as nine people under one roof and two families must share a toilet. Water for the village comes from a river reservoir 72km a way and costs residents 10 (Namibian) cents a litre, but residents must go to a communal source to get it.
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Hata Angu guide “Beetle” taught participants the clicking sounds of the Khoekhoe language used by the Damara and Nama people.
Even though this living situation is common throughout the world, the DRC doesn’t resemble the sprawling, over-crowded slums seen in other places around the world. The Republic of Namibia – which became an independent country in 1990 – is the least densely populated country in the world, with only two people per square kilometer and a population of 2,108,665 (Souce: CIA World Fact Book, July 2009). And while there are so many different ethnic groups co-existing in such a small area, the DRC doesn’t have problems with fighting between tribes; they live quite peacefully together, Castro says. It’s difficult to maintain traditions, because of inter-marriage, he adds, but tribe leaders encourage families not to let go of their heritage. To keep cultures alive, children follow the traditions of their mother’s tribe: If a Herero woman marries a man from the Damara tribe, the child is raised as a Herero.
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Oma Lena, with great-grandson Lakwinsi, told Peace Boat participants her election as Damara chief has made a big difference for women in the community.
Castro and Beetle introduced Peace Boat participants to mothers from three tribes during their brief visit to Mondesa and the DRC, including a Nama medicine woman and Damara Chief Oma Lena Goses. The jubilant 85 year-old was chosen as the first female tribe leader eight years ago, after serving more than 20 years on the council. That’s one change of tradition that has been welcomed by the community. Before she was elected, male leaders mostly made decisions that concerned the men in the tribe. She says she has taught the men about equality; they can be in charge of their house, but they must pay equal respect to their wives. “It was a breakthrough for women to stand out like that,” she says, “I was very proud (to be chosen).”