Namibia country report

William did not really want to farm at Drimiopsis; he just wanted a place to stay and rest.He cultivated his small garden mainly for the purpose of keeping himself busy. All thelivestock that he brought to Drimiopsis was stolen. Despite this loss, he hoped for supportin the form of 5-10 head of cattle or goats to see where this would take him. He received acombined monthly pension (government and general) of N$800 which he said was too little.Alfred was born in 1949 on a commercial farm in Gobabis District where his parents, bothof Nama origin, were employed as farm workers. He attended school for about two years inGobabis, but left because his parents moved to another farm which made going to schoolimpossible. For most of his life he worked in the construction business in and aroundGobabis, making bricks. In the 1960s he helped the “Basters” to build Gobabis’ “Coloured”township, Nossobville. But then, work opportunities became scarce and the costs of livingtoo high in the town, so he and his wife decided to offer their services to farmers in thedistrict, whereafter Alfred mainly maintained fences and built kraals.Alfred quickly learnt from white farmers how to work with livestock. This notwithstanding,permanent farm work was difficult to find, therefore Alfred and his family moved from farmto farm in search of work. He had worked on “too many farms to recall”. He worked on onefarm in Gobabis District for about five years until 1991 when he lost his leg in a confrontationwith a warthog. This forced him to leave his work and home on the farm. The only placewhere he could stay free of charge was Drimiopsis. After a short stay there, he was settledat Skoonheid in 1993, more or less the time when the resettlement project there was started.He and has lived there ever since. Alfred recalled that the then Prime Minister of Namibia,Dr Hage Geingob, had visited Drimiopsis to inform the resettlement community that thegovernment had bought a farm at Skoonheid for anyone interested in settling there. Thoseinterested were asked to put their names on a list, and the government would send a truckto move them together with their belongings to their new home. Alfred opted to be resettledat Skoonheid because Drimiopsis was overcrowded and the crime rate was high there.Kxao, a Ju|’hoansi San man, was born on a commercial farm approximately 20 km westof Skoonheid. He never learnt to read and write. His Namibian identity document statesthat he was born in 1959, which means that he was not yet eligible for an old-age pension.Unlike many other farm workers in the region, Kxao had never moved around a lot. He hadworked for most of his life on a commercial farm approximately 15 km north of Skoonheid.After the owner passed away and his son-in-law inherited the farm, Kxao and his wife leftin search of another place to stay.He heard that government had purchased Skoonheid for the purpose of resettling mainlySan. On arriving there, he asked the previous project co-ordinator whether they could stay.The answer was affirmative and they were given a house. Kxao had two sons. One of themlived and worked on the farm where Kxao had worked. He visited Kxao quite regularly atSkoonheid, but Kxao has not seen him for a long time. His other son worked for Hererofarmers in the communal area near Otjinene in Omaheke. Kxao’s daughter had passedaway several years earlier on another farm in the region after drinking a lethal brew ofbrandy apparently mixed with poison.128 ● Livelihoods after land reform: Namibia country report (2010)