Bushmen Experience

Bushmen Experience:

The San people (called ‘Bushmen’ by the colonizers) of the Kalahari are one of the oldest surviving indigenous groups on the face of the earth. The lands or ‘veld’ in which these hunter/gatherers live are desert or semi-desert, arid, often blisteringly hot by day but capable of reaching temperatures below freezing at night. In this challenging environment, the San’s understanding of their surroundings, unparalleled ability to live successfully in harmony with nature, the balance of their social structure and respect for all forms of life has made them the masters of survival for 40,000 years. This experience will immerse you in this world, learning from these masters practical survival skills such as tracking, gathering and making fire and gaining an understanding of their society and how it functions. You will be challenged on the most fundamental assumptions of how people live their lives and adapt to their environment.

Today, the culture and unique identity of the San are under threat. There are many cases of the very land on which they have lived for millennia being taken away from them. Moreover, the government’s desire to modernize their societies and absorb their cultural identity into contemporary Botswana society can result in the destruction of the San’s traditional ways. This has the potential to cause societal upheaval often accompanied by undesirable effects on the community such as alcoholism. There are strong parallels with the experience of the American Indians. While some aspects of this process are inevitable and even beneficial to the San, uncontrolled enculturation creates a definite erosion of their individual and special identity. Many San people are now aware of this process and are committed to the strengthening and preservation of their cultural heritage. From this desire, an experience has been conceived allowing interested travelers to immerse themselves in the world of the Kalahari San - to live authentically with them, to learn their skills and survival techniques and to understand their society and how it functions.

The experience will happen on a game farm, Dqae Qare, adjacent to the Kalahari desert in central Botswana. The terrain is sand with scattered low bushes and occasional trees - beautiful but stark. A small group of San will be your hosts, guides and trainers for the duration and your first activity will be to build your own shelter next to those of the San to join their community and live in the ‘veld’ as they do. Your days will be filled with practical activities whilst evenings will be spent around the fire under the huge starry skies, listening to tales of San life. Snug in your shelter at night, the rustles, calls and other sounds of the surrounding ‘veld’ will fascinate and entertain you until sleep brings you to dawn and a new day of challenges.

The San are able to survive on a minimal amount of water, sometimes going a day or more with none but gaining what little liquid they need from tubers and other plants. For those of us less adapted to life in a very arid environment, so little liquid could be dangerous and therefore water will be provided on request. Similarly, not every hunt is successful and not every trap catches an animal every time so it is quite possible that there is nothing for the pot on any particular day. The San are used to filling up on whatever ‘veld’ foods (plants and tubers) can be gathered and going to bed hungry. Moreover, some ‘veld’ foods can be described as an acquired taste. Back up food supplies can be provided if requested.

The game farm, Dqae Qare, is the only farm to be legally owned by San people in Botswana. The program will be run by the San (with facilitation but no remuneration from local support groups for indigenous peoples). Whilst the financial benefits this will bring the San are obvious, the reciprocal cultural benefits from this program are important to recognize. At the same time that visitors from the contemporary world are gaining an understanding of a very different environment to their own, the San will benefit from the strengthening of their traditional knowledge and the value placed on this knowledge by the outside world.

You will live as the San did some 50 years ago using the natural resources in the surrounding environment and learning the skills required to be self sufficient. However, the San have long traded with other groups and tools and other items such as knives, pots and blankets will be used. Small amounts of the San’s favorite luxuries such as tobacco, tea and sugar will also be available.

At the end of the experience, you will not only have learnt a host of ancient practical skills for surviving in what initially looks to be an inhospitable environment but will also be enriched by an understanding of a community operating on a different set of values and with a different outlook from your own.