Das Museum

The Living Hunter's Museum of the Ju/'Hoansi-San was initiated by the San hunter !Amache and was built in cooperation with us and his clan. The Living museum will open in March 2010 and will be run and managed independently by the San. The main focus is not so much the traditional grass huts, but rather the life of the San and their ancient hunter-gatherer culture. They present their culture dressed in historic clothes within the setting of a beautiful, reconstructed hunting village of old days. Great importance is attached to representing the old hunter-gather culture as authentically as possible. Nearly the whole village of //Xa/oba is part of the Museum, from infants to great grandmother and thus they are able to paint an extraordinarily authentic picture of such an old hunter-gather community.
 

Three Gains

The Living Museum offers three essential advantages to the San.

Firstly it is a good source of income for the San, which according to western conception live in great poverty. Approximately 30 Ju/'Hoansi earn a regular income and up to 100 inhabitants of the area profit from selling crafts at the craft shop.  
 
Secondly the San occupy themselves with their roots again und thus prevent the loss of cultural values. In this respect the museum also functions as a school for history and culture.
 
Last but not the least the Living Museum stands for an active intercultural exchange. Within the framework to the museum a lot of people concern themselves with the San culture and start to understand what makes these special people unique! The visitors give the San self-confidence and also the youngsters develop a feeling of being proud about their ancient culture. Maybe the San will in this way be able to help themselves out of the social problems they are so perceptive to.
 

Camp site & craft shop

Next to the Living Museum you can find a ‚wild’ camp site, situated on a beautiful clearing without electricity and momentarily also without water. The overnight fees are 20 N$ per person and wood can be purchased at 10 N$ per bundle.
 
The museum has a craft shop, where a lot of jewellery, tools, instruments and articles of daily use are being sold. The whole village and many surrounding villages profit from the sale of these products, as everyone is allowed to sell their crafts there.