2. The Land
Have you ever noticed that nature gives everything to us, continuously and endlessly?
Even after centuries of human destruction, extraction, and general lack of care, natural still provides for us in all the ways possible. The harsh reality now is that it’s getting to a point where the destruction is becoming too bad to repair.
As humans, it’s easy to feel like we are somehow above nature, more advanced. That’s where we believe so many of the worlds problems arise from – this disconnection from nature.
When we remember that we are nature at our core, it’s inevitable to feel the need to nurture and give back, in any way we see possible.
For us, we’re focused on finding our place in the ecosystem again - not just overruling our environments and causing destruction in the process - but instead learning how to thrive alongside nature. Working together to create systems that support each other, building a sustainable harmony and abundance all-round.
This is Agroforestry – read more about it here.
Land by the Okavango River
In this area of Namibia, land cannot be bought nor owned.
Instead, you can get permission to take care of the land if you agree to use it in a way that benefits the whole community, e.g. food production.
The North of Namibia is still tribal land, with Traditional Authority (as well as the Government) where Kings govern specific areas. So for us, we were given permission from the King to farm this land once the local community agreed on it too.
The rules are that if the land is not developed, and only using it only for recreational purposes rather than providing benefit to the community, then it can be taken away and passed on to someone who actually needs it. Fair enough!
However, we can now get a leasehold which gives us more security.
To us, that seems like a good way to go about land distribution, where all people must have the whole community in mind.
A bit about the property
Totaling 38 hectares, the property hadn’t been lived on since 2008, and it had been left barren and uncared for ever since then.
The land is a huge space to work with. Everyday as we walk around, we feel so grateful for the abundance that is possible here.
Due to the shape of the property and the differing soil qualities, we naturally split it up into four different areas.
Fields with red earth on a slight hill down to the rest of the property (sandy, loose soils). This is our largest section.
Fields with dark earth (rich, dense, full of nutrition).
The central work/camp area.
The river pieces, where the fields stop right at the river. (Here it gets much colder in winter, so we can different tree species that do better with some cold!)
Having all this space to work with is simply a dream come true.
Thanks for reading!
Loree & Hanjo