Background
The Nyae Nyae Development Foundation of Namibia (NNDFN) was founded in 1981 to support the indigenous Ju/’hoansi San people of the Nyae Nyae area in the former eastern Bushmanland (Tsumkwe East). NNDFN now supports the Nyae Nyae Conservancy and Community Forest, a community-based organization, responsible for managing the natural resources in the area. More recently NNDFN has also begun to support the neighbouring N≠a Jaqna Conservancy populated by Ju/’hoansi and !Kung San.
Mission
The NNDFN mission is to: Support and empower the San people in Namibia to improve their quality of life economically and socially including land and human rights and the sustainable use of natural resources.
Core values and principles
The core values of the NNDFN are to adhere to a facilitative approach, participatory decision making from a grass-roots level and to uphold the principles of skills transfer, transparency, honesty and sustainability.
Water, Land and a Voice reflects on the support provided by the Nyae Nyae Development Foundation of Namibia (NNDFN) to the Ju/’hoan San in north-eastern Namibia over the last 36 years. The aim is to highlight positive, constructive areas of development and lessons learned along the way. This is not an academic publication or detailed project review, rather an attempt to see the big picture and reflect on progress made and the challenges that still remain.
