Help preserve the most ancient culture on earth
Donation protected
Hi everyone, Theresa here x
In March 2020 I have the huge privilege of being part of a cultural exchange with the Ju/'Hoansi, one of the last groups of the Kalahari San bushpeople, with Wildwise in association with The Old Way and Cybertracker. I am asking for support an employment and education programme to help with the survival of one of the oldest human indigenous communities on the planet.
The Kalahari San Bushpeople of which the Ju/‘Hoansi are one group, are direct descendants of the oldest people who once roamed over much of Africa. They have been exploited, persecuted and displaced for many hundreds of years, and have experienced enormous hardship.
It has become increasingly difficult for the San Bushmen to continue to practice their traditional way of life as hunter-gatherers and now only fifteen active master trackers remain. The situation today is an urgent and critical one; we now have precious time left to help preserve this most ancient way of life and the wisdom they hold.
In March 2020 we will journey deep into the Kalahari Desert to this remote tribe. Our small group are all graduates from the WildWise “Call of the Wild ” programme and we will travel to the part of the desert which is the last place in Africa where they still retain rights to their ancestral lands, where they are still able to hunt with a bow and arrow and where the community still remain with some of their traditional ways of life intact.
Living among the Ju/‘Hoansi, we will immerse ourselves in their way of life, experiencing the way they live together in community, raise their children, and going out in small groups at dawn tracking with the bow hunting master trackers.
Why we need this original wisdom
Being the longest continuous intact human culture affords the San Bushpeople a unique intelligence missing in the modern world. They retain a deep inter-connection with the land and it gives them an exceptional and astounding ability to read the earth for stories and track and trail animals for days. This is a continuous tradition that goes back more than 100,000 years, the longest of any human tradition. Their skills and way of life are a vital source of information about human evolution and how to live in deep connection to the living world.
This older, deeper wisdom is lacking from our world right now but through it we might find the distant tracks of some of the answers to the profound questions and challenges the world is facing.
But just when we need it most, the opportunity to experience it is diminishing due to the long-standing persecution and displacement that the San have faced. This has made it impossible for the San to sustain this way of living.
It is my view that preserving this ancient culture that once supported all human life is as critical as saving the last 15 of any species on earth.
The time to act is now.
How the invitation came about
This invitation came from the Ju/‘Hoansi Bushpeople themselves. I am fully aware of the trap which many Western organisations fall into of thinking they know what’s best for other communities. Our primary guide is the renowned anthropologist, scientist and founder of CyberTracker Louis Liebenberg. Louis has been working with the Bushpeople in the Kalahari since 1985, and being a true master tracker himself is highly respected and trusted.
He was asked by the elders of the tribe in 1990 to help them to pass on their cultural practices to the younger generation who have abandoned the traditional ways of living because it is no longer a viable way to survive within the constraints forced upon them. Louis Liebenberg has been tirelessly working with the San Bushmen to ensure that their invaluable tracking expertise is passed on to the younger generation by reviving the ancient practice of tracking as a way to sustain life within the community.
By using free and easy-to-use software designed by CyberTracker, trackers are able to record complex data about wildlife populations and plant biodiversity. By becoming ‘qualified’ as trackers they are able to get jobs in ecotourism, as rangers in anti-poaching units, in wildlife monitoring and scientific research.
This programme of employment creation is vital to ensure that their invaluable tracking expertise is passed on to the younger generation of San by incentivising and motivating them to keep their knowledge and skills alive.
How the money will be used
1 - Money you offer will go directly to supporting the San communities, there is no middle person. It will be a lifeline of employment for them whilst also encouraging them to continue their ancient and important cultural practices. This trip will support all the 15 remaining master trackers in the Namibian conservancy. Our trip will raise the equivalent of at least 2 months work picking devils tooth claw plant which is their only other source of income. The plant goes into medicines made in Europe.
The tracking work provides a valued source of income which helps preserve their culture and unique scientific knowledge; The Tracker qualification programme through CyberTracker combines technology with the tracking skills in order to collect data on animal movement and behaviour and has currency with employers like national parks and in turn helps to support the livelihoods of the village as a whole.
2 - We will pay the other villagers such as the elders & youth who provide valuable knowledge and host us and help us with various tasks around camp.
3 - We also provide financial support through the purchase of handicrafts which provides a crucial source of income for the women as there is next to no potential employment for them in this region. This again supports a wide number of villages as well as helping them to preserve their heritage craft skills. The women will also be paid to teach us to build grass huts for us to sleep in which, like the handicrafts, provides a crucial source of income for the women as well as preserving the knowledge and skill set to build our species first kinds of homes.
4 - We pay an entrance fee to the conservancy which protects the Nye Nye land, translators and apprentice translators.
5 - Subject to having enough money leftover and if external funds are not forthcoming from elsewhere then we will also provide funding for food for people coming to the TB soup kitchen in Tsumkwe, the clinic is thus able to stay open for longer and provide a better service; we supplement the funding of the clinic provided by others.
I will pay for my own travel to and from Namibia.
My hopes and dreams
Whilst the money raised will deliver vital funding to support the San Bushpeople to continue their traditional ways of life. It is also my hope that there will be other benefits.
My own journey for the last few years has been one of a profound personal transformation and exploration into my own connection to nature. It has unlocked for me an intense longing to be reminded of the wisdom that my ancestors held and their connection to their communities and the earth. Historically humans had their own ecological niche within the ecosystem, and this knowledge has been lost over time as the human race has come to separate itself from nature. What does it mean to re-wild ourselves? Is it possible to combine the old ways of knowing within the modern world? It is my hope that through this visit I will find wisdom, knowledge and connection to bring back to my life and the communities that I live and work in.
Please help in whatever way you can. Thank you from myself, and on behalf of the Bushmen who's legacy we wish to keep alive and well.
With deep gratitude and love.
Theresa
xx
In March 2020 I have the huge privilege of being part of a cultural exchange with the Ju/'Hoansi, one of the last groups of the Kalahari San bushpeople, with Wildwise in association with The Old Way and Cybertracker. I am asking for support an employment and education programme to help with the survival of one of the oldest human indigenous communities on the planet.
The Kalahari San Bushpeople of which the Ju/‘Hoansi are one group, are direct descendants of the oldest people who once roamed over much of Africa. They have been exploited, persecuted and displaced for many hundreds of years, and have experienced enormous hardship.
It has become increasingly difficult for the San Bushmen to continue to practice their traditional way of life as hunter-gatherers and now only fifteen active master trackers remain. The situation today is an urgent and critical one; we now have precious time left to help preserve this most ancient way of life and the wisdom they hold.
In March 2020 we will journey deep into the Kalahari Desert to this remote tribe. Our small group are all graduates from the WildWise “Call of the Wild ” programme and we will travel to the part of the desert which is the last place in Africa where they still retain rights to their ancestral lands, where they are still able to hunt with a bow and arrow and where the community still remain with some of their traditional ways of life intact.
Living among the Ju/‘Hoansi, we will immerse ourselves in their way of life, experiencing the way they live together in community, raise their children, and going out in small groups at dawn tracking with the bow hunting master trackers.
Why we need this original wisdom
Being the longest continuous intact human culture affords the San Bushpeople a unique intelligence missing in the modern world. They retain a deep inter-connection with the land and it gives them an exceptional and astounding ability to read the earth for stories and track and trail animals for days. This is a continuous tradition that goes back more than 100,000 years, the longest of any human tradition. Their skills and way of life are a vital source of information about human evolution and how to live in deep connection to the living world.
This older, deeper wisdom is lacking from our world right now but through it we might find the distant tracks of some of the answers to the profound questions and challenges the world is facing.
But just when we need it most, the opportunity to experience it is diminishing due to the long-standing persecution and displacement that the San have faced. This has made it impossible for the San to sustain this way of living.
It is my view that preserving this ancient culture that once supported all human life is as critical as saving the last 15 of any species on earth.
The time to act is now.
How the invitation came about
This invitation came from the Ju/‘Hoansi Bushpeople themselves. I am fully aware of the trap which many Western organisations fall into of thinking they know what’s best for other communities. Our primary guide is the renowned anthropologist, scientist and founder of CyberTracker Louis Liebenberg. Louis has been working with the Bushpeople in the Kalahari since 1985, and being a true master tracker himself is highly respected and trusted.
He was asked by the elders of the tribe in 1990 to help them to pass on their cultural practices to the younger generation who have abandoned the traditional ways of living because it is no longer a viable way to survive within the constraints forced upon them. Louis Liebenberg has been tirelessly working with the San Bushmen to ensure that their invaluable tracking expertise is passed on to the younger generation by reviving the ancient practice of tracking as a way to sustain life within the community.
By using free and easy-to-use software designed by CyberTracker, trackers are able to record complex data about wildlife populations and plant biodiversity. By becoming ‘qualified’ as trackers they are able to get jobs in ecotourism, as rangers in anti-poaching units, in wildlife monitoring and scientific research.
This programme of employment creation is vital to ensure that their invaluable tracking expertise is passed on to the younger generation of San by incentivising and motivating them to keep their knowledge and skills alive.
How the money will be used
1 - Money you offer will go directly to supporting the San communities, there is no middle person. It will be a lifeline of employment for them whilst also encouraging them to continue their ancient and important cultural practices. This trip will support all the 15 remaining master trackers in the Namibian conservancy. Our trip will raise the equivalent of at least 2 months work picking devils tooth claw plant which is their only other source of income. The plant goes into medicines made in Europe.
The tracking work provides a valued source of income which helps preserve their culture and unique scientific knowledge; The Tracker qualification programme through CyberTracker combines technology with the tracking skills in order to collect data on animal movement and behaviour and has currency with employers like national parks and in turn helps to support the livelihoods of the village as a whole.
2 - We will pay the other villagers such as the elders & youth who provide valuable knowledge and host us and help us with various tasks around camp.
3 - We also provide financial support through the purchase of handicrafts which provides a crucial source of income for the women as there is next to no potential employment for them in this region. This again supports a wide number of villages as well as helping them to preserve their heritage craft skills. The women will also be paid to teach us to build grass huts for us to sleep in which, like the handicrafts, provides a crucial source of income for the women as well as preserving the knowledge and skill set to build our species first kinds of homes.
4 - We pay an entrance fee to the conservancy which protects the Nye Nye land, translators and apprentice translators.
5 - Subject to having enough money leftover and if external funds are not forthcoming from elsewhere then we will also provide funding for food for people coming to the TB soup kitchen in Tsumkwe, the clinic is thus able to stay open for longer and provide a better service; we supplement the funding of the clinic provided by others.
I will pay for my own travel to and from Namibia.
My hopes and dreams
Whilst the money raised will deliver vital funding to support the San Bushpeople to continue their traditional ways of life. It is also my hope that there will be other benefits.
My own journey for the last few years has been one of a profound personal transformation and exploration into my own connection to nature. It has unlocked for me an intense longing to be reminded of the wisdom that my ancestors held and their connection to their communities and the earth. Historically humans had their own ecological niche within the ecosystem, and this knowledge has been lost over time as the human race has come to separate itself from nature. What does it mean to re-wild ourselves? Is it possible to combine the old ways of knowing within the modern world? It is my hope that through this visit I will find wisdom, knowledge and connection to bring back to my life and the communities that I live and work in.
Please help in whatever way you can. Thank you from myself, and on behalf of the Bushmen who's legacy we wish to keep alive and well.
With deep gratitude and love.
Theresa
xx
Organizer
Theresa Stewart
Organizer
England
