Leseprobe
From the foreword by Chief Seth Kooitjie When I was elected as Chief twenty years ago, I voted to uphold and promote the livelihood of my people, the Topnaar. Given the circumstances I inherited, there was no doubt in my mind about the difficult struggle ahead of me to try and address the difficulties within the traditional area of my community, as part of the community are living in the Namib-Naukluft Park. One of the most important issues I had to face was the one-sided policy prohibiting us from practising our traditional rights within our traditional territory. In so doing my community lost a great part of their culture and traditional way of life. However, one part of our culture remained attached to my people as it has been and still is and will be their way of life for centuries to come. We have been given the opportunity to protect, conserve, and to promote the only remaining natural resource we can claim without any fear of contradiction: the !NARA PLANT. Over the years, we met hundreds of researchers and people who wrote about the importance of the !nara plant and its cultural and traditional value in the lives of the Topnaar people. Indeed these articles and literature contributed to the exposure of the unique endemic plant. As the traditional authority, we realised that much more is needed to conserve and to secure the future of this important plant, at the same time, to ensure sustainable use of the plant through education programmes for the users of this Natural Resource. I appeal to all Namibians and interested international parties throughout the world to play an active role in protecting these unique plants, by contributing towards the efforts of the leaders of the community to ensure the survival of the !nara plants. This can only be achieved by joining hands in the efforts to understand the process of how this plant ensures its survival in the desert. Also, equally important, are the factors contributing to the deterioration and decline of production by the plants. Being a responsible leader, I would like to see this project fulfilling set objectives: - to ensure the protection and survival of the !nara plant - to ensure sustainable utilisation - to ensure the successful cultivation of the !nara plant through research. To this end I pledge all my support and would like to share with you the praise of the !Nara by the Elders of our community. You round food with many thorns, Foster mother of the Topnaar children, Even when I'm far away I shall think of you, You food of my ancestors, I will never forget you, There is no breast-feeding woman like you. With these few words, I thank everyone who contributed to the realisation of the first ever document initiated by the community and produced by the hard working researchers and students of the DRFN. I hope that this document will contribute towards promotion and sustainable utilisation of indigenous plants. I would also like to take this opportunity to express my profound appreciation towards our government for recognising the need to assist the Topnaar Community to realise their dream by taking the initiative in providing funds for the first ever community-owned !nara project. May God bless all your hard work. I thank you, The Chief, S.M. Kooitjie, Topnaar Community
