December 8, 2024
We have officially left South Africa and are now in Namibia. Namibia literally means “desert,” and that’s exactly what this area is. In fact, it is the dryest country in all of the area of Africa located south of the Sahara Desert, even when it’s not in a massive drought. At 318,772 square miles in size with a population of about three million people, it is the world’s 34th largest country, but its least populated. It also has one of the world’s highest income disparities. However, a recent discovery of oil fields in the Orange Basin and the harnessing of solar power may give the country the opportunity to change that.
In January of this year more than eleven million barrels in oil reserves were found along Namibia’s Atlantic Ocean coastline. The fields are owned by TotalEnergies and Shell but have the potential to double Namibia’s economy over the next 15 years. In addition, Namibia has begun partnering with Germany and Belgium to harness the energy of the sun. In exchange for their investment in the technology, Namibia currently sells more energy back to these countries than it keeps, but its goal is to generate 80 percent of its power domestically through the use of solar power by 2028 (currently they buy most of their energy from South Africa). We saw evidence of the oil exploration in the harbor.
We are docked in Walvis Bay, the 2nd largest city in Namibia, so named for the large number of Southern Right Whales who come to the bay, attracted by its deep-water harbor and rich plankton and marine life (Southern Right Whales are large, slow-moving, and, unlike other whales, do not sink when they are killed, thus making them the “right” whales to kill – when that was a thing). Walvis Bay is part of the Skeleton Coast, a name coined for the title of a John Henry Marsh book about a famous shipwreck in the area. There are more than a thousand such wrecks along this area of the coast, and the remains of their sailors are known to have washed up on shore a time or two, thus the name.
Walvis Bay is an important center of logistical support and tourism for the region, providing port facilities for import and export of cargo for Namibia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Botswana. The port here moves over a million containers per year. From a tourism standpoint there is Dune 7 Sand Dune, frequented by 4-wheelers seeking adventure, salt works (Walvis Bay has a huge desalinization plant where they produce salt from ocean water), and two premier league soccer stadiums. Hearing this you might expect pictures of a bustling metropolis, but that is not what Walvis Bay is, and it is certainly not how one would describe the town we visited.
Swakopmund Township is a working-class residential area established in the early 1950s to provide housing for three tribes whose people worked in Swakopmund. The tribes were Owambo, Damara and Herero. The original name of the town translated into “Place where excrement comes from,” thus the name of today’s posting. The town is located along the Swakop river, and its name was derived from the observation that rains in the area caused large amounts of brownish sludge to discharge from the river into the Atlantic Ocean. Today approximately 75,000 people live here, many of whom work in one of the five uranium mines in the area. Some are involved in the work at Bird Island, a man-made platform that serves as a breeding ground for birds and can yield up to 600,000 TONS of guano – bird poop – for harvesting. We passed the platform on our way to town…hard to imagine so much…waste…can be deposited in such a small space.
We met with Madam Rosalia, a member of the Herero tribe, who lives in one such l house, the same home she was born in 57 years ago this month. Madam Rosalia was raised before primary education became compulsory and speaks very little English, so her daughter Dee was there to translate. We sat on the side of Madam Rosalia’s home, on crates and sofas covered with blankets while she educated us on the Herero way of life and shared information about various customs, some of which continue today. For example, Hereros practice polygamy, but it is the first wife who decides if there will be additional wives, and who those wives will be. Additional wives are usually chosen if the first wife is barren or needs assistance with the household.
Then it was off to a gourmet lunch of corn/maize Jello-like patties, pureed black-eyed peas, creamed spinach and fried caterpillar. Yes, you read that correctly, caterpillar! Proper etiquette is to squeeze off a piece of the corn/maize stuff, dip it in the spinach and puree, scoop up a caterpillar and shove it all in your mouth. Not everyone was game, but Pam gave it a try. The caterpillar has the texture of shrimp and tastes a bit like raw oysters, very salty and very fishy – ewwww! When we arrived at the restaurant there were a couple of locals playing an oversized version of what we call Mancala.
During our travels we passed miles of people living in shacks, referred to as “informal housing.” These homes have no electricity, running water or toilets. Community toilets (a cross between our porta-potties and an out-house) are located among the shacks. They have septic tanks that are emptied every two weeks or so by the government. Individuals living here are employed, but with an average salary of less than $600 a year it can be tough to get ahead. Some people don’t even make $100 year. The government has a program in place to help these individuals get into permanent homes. Those who qualify can purchase a home with $67 down. The government provides financing for 20 years, after which the individual owns it free and clear. Each home has a living area, kitchen, bathroom and 1-2 bedrooms. The buyer can do anything they like with the property, but they cannot sell it for the first 10 years after it has been paid off.
The government’s goal is to get everyone out of shacks and into a permanent home by 2030, but there is currently a 10-year wait, and the growth of the shack settlements is greatly outpacing the building of the permanent homes.
Our last stop was with a Himba Medicine Man. We stood in his front yard as he shared a number of herbal remedies with us. There are still many areas of Namibia that have no access to modern medicine, especially those in rural areas, and they depend solely on the traditional healer to cure what ails them. It was interesting to hear that even today chronic conditions like diabetes, heart disease or even cancer are unheard of in the tribal communities.
Only children born with their amniotic sac intact are considered gifted enough to become healers. They are identified and mentored from an early age, around 5, and serve their tribe all their lives. The gentleman we met with is currently mentoring his youngest son. There was a practicing physician in our group, and it was interesting to witness her interaction with the Medicine Man after his presentation. She recognized some of the plants he had shared and was familiar with their medicinal properties.
On our route to and from Swakopmund we drove Palm Tree Lane, which boasts the world’s longest continuous line of palm trees. There are 800 palm trees lining each side of the road, for a total of 1600 trees in all. Since Palm trees are thought to have originated in North Africa it seems appropriate this honor should be bestowed up on an African country.
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