Indigenous Peoples and Conservation Organizations

The Ju/’hoan in Namibia 117
inhabited predominately by tribal peoples like the
Ju/’hoan who practice “communal” rather than
private ownership. The Nyae Nyae area extends
through what is currently known as the Tsumkwe
District of the eastern Otjozondjupa Region.
Throughout the changing administrative structures
of the past two decades, an authority of
central government responsible for wildlife management
has been based in Tsumkwe, and MET
maintains a significant presence and some decision-making
authority there today.
Traditionally the Ju/’hoan are organized as bands
of individuals centered on and supported by the
resources of a n!ore (singular form of n!oresi).
During the 1980s some Ju/’hoan began a “back
to the land” movement, leaving Tsumkwe to
return to their n!oresi to reestablish occupancy
rights. Today there are about 32 decentralized
communities in Nyae Nyae, each with a water
source (usually a well with a windmill), corrals
for protecting small herds of cattle, and small
agricultural fields/gardens. The communities
range in size from a dozen to 150 people.
An extended family group is headed by a n!ore
kxao (plural—kxaosi), or “steward of shared
resources” that include water, small game, and
wild foods. Group members select the n!ore
kxao, either a man or a woman, from among
their elders. The Ju/’hoan see some resources as
“common” beyond family, in which case two or
more n!oresi kxaosi jointly undertake decision
making (see figure 7.1). All game and natural
water points are deemed common property, as are
some wild foods, including mangetti nuts, marula
nuts, and morama beans (=Oma and /Aice 1996).
N!ore kxaosi have been known to jointly agree to
a moratorium on certain species within their
hunting grounds to avoid depletion.
The Ju/’hoan culture of equality and tolerance
has always favored decision making by consensus
rather than by individual leaders. When such
leaders do arise, their authority stems from how
well they uphold the values of the society.
Leadership is based on experience and wisdom,
and leaders are generally older community members.
Historically, men and women have had
equal stature since gathering tasks were as critical
as hunting was to group survival. As the
Ju/’hoan became more integrated into the larger
economy with the introduction of cattle and agricultural
crops, women have lost some prestige
and their social position has changed.
The traditional egalitarianism and tolerance
inherent in Ju/’hoan values tends to prevent a
concentration of power. As in many other
hunter-gatherer societies, there is a lack of hierarchical
structure for decision making. Even the
idea of representation—one person speaking for
another—is unfamiliar, though less so among
younger, more educated members of the community.
As one person stated, “Each of us is a headman
over himself” (Lee 1993). This makes it
difficult for the Ju/’hoan to exercise their rights
within the governmental framework of the country.
The Traditional Authorities Act of 1996 provides
for one “traditional leader” and one to three
councilors, based on population, to represent a
community at the central government level. The
Ju/’hoan have no single individual to represent
them in this way.
A key feature of the past 15 years has been the
slow emergence of legitimate and effective
organizational structures among the Ju/’hoan to
deal with the outside world (see figure 7.2).
The Ju/Wa Farmers Union was started in 1986
as the back-to-the-land movement gathered
steam. By late 1988, with the number of
n!oresi increasing rapidly and with a growing
need to facilitate applications for legal recognition
in the soon-to-be-independent Namibia,
awareness grew that the organization needed to
formalize and institutionalize its structure and
leadership. The union drafted a set of statutes
to establish a representative organization governed
by a council. Each n!ore would choose a
male and a female representative to sit on the
Representative Council, which would select
individuals to communicate with outsiders and
would meet at least every six months to provide
feedback to and from the community.
The Ju/Wa Farmers Union further tightened its
structure and became the NNFC in 1990 when a
development program took shape with funding
from international donors and support from a
Namibian nongovernmental organization (NGO).
Members of the NNFC Representative Council
elected a chairperson, a secretary, and one representative
from each of the three districts of Nyae
Nyae to form a management committee and
supervise day-to-day program services. Megan