It’sourfirstvisitto the!KhwattuSan
HeritageCentre,ontheR27,anhournorthof
CapeTown,whereit hasestablisheditselfas
a WestCoastdestination.Thanksto itsproximity
to theWestCoastNationalPark,theseaside
villagesofLangebaanandYzerfontein,andthe
artytownofDarling,it’sanaffordablebasefrom
whichto explorethearea.
Withitsdaisy-studdedplainsit’smygo-to
spotin flowerseason,andI’vebeentherehalf
a dozentimesin thelastfewyears,watchedthe
centredevelopandtriedmostoftheiractivities.
ButtheopeningoftheirnewHeritageCentre
in September 2018 hasuppedtheante.
The!KhwattuHeritageCentreproject
wasfoundedtwodecadesagobythelate
SwissanthropologistandphilanthropistIrene
Staehelin.“Thereis nogroupin mankindthat
hasbeenwrittenaboutmorethantheSan,the
Bushmanpeople,”Irenehadsaid.“Butwhere
arethesebooks?They'rein thelibraries,in the
universities.They’renotin thepossessionof
thepeople.Sowhatwewantedto doat !Khwa
ttuwasrestitutethosestories,thosefilms,
thatknowledge,thoseimages,andthenlet
Bushmanpeopledecidewhattheywantto
takefortheirheritage.”
In1999,sheboughta WestCoastfarm
forthe!Khwattuproject,latersettingupthe
UbuntuFoundationin Switzerlandto help
supportit.“SomehowI couldseethisplace
becominga Sanheritageandeducationcentre,”
shesaidat thetime.“Itwasa strongvision
combinedwiththefeelingthat,if I walked
away,I wouldregretit to theendofmydays.”
Fast-forward 20 yearsandthepreviously
dilapidatedfarmis a placeoflearningand
sharing,co-ownedandrunfor,andby,theSan,
witha neweco-centreasitsdefininglandmark.
Aspartoftheskillstrainingtheyoffer,the
managementof!Khwattuhastransformedthe
derelictfarm,Grootwater,intoaninspiring
culturalandactivity-baseddestinationforthe
20000 orsovisitorswhopassthroughitsgates
everyyear.
“Inthetwodecadeswe’vebeenhere,togetherwiththeSanstaffandinterns,we’ve
rehabilitatedtheland,re-wildingit witheland,
zebraandvariousotheranimals,”saysMichael
Daiber,generalmanagerof!Khwattu.“Welaid
hikingandmountain-biketrails,established
anexcellentrestaurantanddevelopedvarious
accommodationoptions.”
Joram/Useb,!Khwattu’sheritage
coordinatorexplainsthatthe!KhwattuSan
HeritageCentreis a greatdealmorethan
a collectionofartefactsandhistoricalphotos.
“It'sa pioneeringinitiative,a museumthat
embracestheprincipleofcommunitycuration,LEFT: The inauguration of !Khwa ttu’s new Heritage Centre is marked not by cuttinga ribbonbutby
lighting a fire. ABOVE: The late Irene Staehelin, anthropologist, philanthropist andfounderof!Khwattu.
RIGHT: Michael Daiber, general manager of !Khwa ttu, with Ouma Katrina Geelmeid,oneofthelast
speakers of the N/u language that was declared dead 100 years ago. BELOW: Sanpaintingsin the
First People gallery that focuses on San creation and origins stories.
http://www.countrylife.co.za 037 September 2019!KHWA TTU HERITAGE