The San values of conflict prevention and avoidance in Platfontein

The aim of this article is to identify measures that can prevent violent conflict through the maintenance of traditional cultural values that guide conflict avoidance. Moreover, the article focuses on the concepts of conflict prevention and conflict avoidance as applied by the San community of Platfontein. The causes of the inter-communal tensions between the San community members are also examined. A selected conflict situation, that of superstition and witchcraft, is assessed as factors increasing interpersonal conflict in the Platfontein community. This investigation is made to determine if the San preventive measures have an impact in the community, so as to prevent ongoing conflicts from escalating further. - Mollema, N., 2017, ‘The Sanvalues of conflict preventionand avoidance in Platfontein’,The Journal forTransdisciplinary Research inSouthern Africa 13(1), a429.https://doi.org/10.4102/td.v13i1.429

The Last Bushmen (San) of Zimbabwe

The Forgotten Khomani San Bushmen - A Revisit

An artist by day, Jacobus van wyk lives in Andriesvale, a Khomani San community near the Botswana boarder. Trough the Restitution of Lands Rights Act of 1994, the Khomani San successfully reclaimed the area they are now living on. But 25-years into democracy, Jacobus feels that his people have been forgotten.

The Difficult Choice Facing Young Bushmen

Is there inherent value in preserving tradition? What if tradition, for you, meant rejecting modern life in favor of your ancestral lifestyle of hunting and gathering in sub-Saharan Africa? This is the very real choice facing Ketelelo and Kitsiso, two young Bushmen in Botswana, in Daniel Koehler’s moving documentary, A House Without Snakes.

The twentieth anniversary of eviction from Kalahari highlights Bushmen plight

2017 Was the 20th anniversary of the of the eviction of the Bushmen from their traditional hunting grounds. The future still looks very bleak!

Twenty years ago, during May 1996, hundreds of Bushmen were ordered to abandon their homes deep in Botswana’s Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR). This was the first in a wave of evictions by the government, determined to open up their ancestral homes to diamond mining and tourism. The Bushmen of Xade community were given no warning and were ordered to leave their homes immediately. They were herded onto trucks and those who refused to go were told they would be shot by the army. Read the story here

Could Tourism Offer a Future for Botswana’s Bushmen?

Adventure travel leader G Adventures is working to improve the relationship between the tourism industry and local communities through partnerships with impact-driven local organizations. “As G Africa unfolds, we are working toward ensuring that every stop is locally owned and supports the community,” explains CEO (Chief Experience Officer), Farai Chigwada.

The first inhabitants of the eastern Lowveld were probably the San or Bushmen

The first inhabitants of the eastern Lowveld were probably the San or Bushmen. They were a nomadic people who lived together in small family groups and relied on hunting and the gathering of food for survival. Evidence of their existence is found in numerous rock shelters throughout the Lowveld where some of their rock paintings are still visible. A number of these shelters have been documented in the Nelspruit area (Bornman, 1995; Schoonraad in Barnard, 1975). It has been said the red-ochre source for these paintings is to be found at Dumaneni, near Malalane (Bornman, 1995).