BIG Pilot Project - Assessment Report - BIG Coalition Namibia

Section 1: The BIG a small project with a large aimOtjivero was known for its bad reputation amongst thelocal farmers as a hot-bed of criminal activities.Photo 1: Plastic and corrugated zinc were the main building materialsin Otjivero (April 2007)Every residentunderthe age of60 living inOtjivero-Omitara receivesN$100 eachmonth fromJanuary2008 for twoyears, endinginDecember2009.Omitara is located some 100 kilometres east of Windhoek.People (mainly retrenched farmworkers) startedsettling in Otjivero about 5 km away from Omitara ongovernment-owned land in 1992. A feature of the areais the proximity to a large dam that supplies water toWindhoek and surrounding areas. Unusually, thepeople in Otjivero have access to free water supply, butthe area is impoverished, prone to diseases, such as TBand HIV/AIDS, and struggling to subsist as a viablecommunity. In addition, the development of the settlementhas been controversial from the beginning andthere has been persistent conflict with the surroundingcommercial farmers because of illegal hunting, trespassingand the collection of firewood. There was noreason to think that its choice as the site for the BIGpilot made it more or less likely to succeed there thanin other parts of the country.The pilot was implemented as follows: Every residentunder the age of 60 living in Otjivero-Omitara receivesN$ 100 each month from January 2008 until December20