For one of our last development classes we went to GreenSpot organic farm in Okahandja. Manjo Smith, who runs the farm, gave us a thorough tour of the property before serving us a delicious organic breakfast cooked on their very own solar stove.

It was really refreshing to see how all aspects of nature work together in an efficient, self-sustaining farm that is still able to make a profit each year. With no prior experience in farming, Smith jumped right in to organic farming for over 8 years and though she has studied farming since then, she has really learned the most through trial and error over the years. Her passion and commitment to the farm are really an inspiration – if a former private sector employee can turn a plot of land into one of the country’s most successful organic farms, then surely I can attempt to grow a small garden once I get back to the states!

Some of Smith’s tricks for farming seem so clever..but then again they are more like common sense when you actually think about it. Seeing how the farm functions without the use of pesticides and GMOs like in big commercial farms was really great. The chickens on the farm eat up all the insects and weeds as they rotate throughout different pieces of land. They allow the chickens to naturally hatch the number of chickens they choose while keeping the extra eggs for consumption. The chicks grow up with a mother hen, which has proven to produce better quality meat and eggs. Smith is still trying to build up the chicken population on the farm, so right now they do not have enough eggs or chicken meat to sell, but in a few years they hope to have the chicken coup up to full capacity.

The cat and dog take care of snake and rodent issues around the farm. And the calf is allowed to graze openly in certain plots. Smith explained the importance of rotating crops each season as certain crops take away nitrogen and other infuse nitrogen back into the soil. This way no chemicals are needed to maintain the quality of the soil. Each year the farmers throw small red-painted rocks into the strawberry fields right before harvest so that when the berries are actually ripe, the birds will not eat them because they’ll associate the strawberries with the hard rocks. Smith is also trying to grow squash next to the corn this year since the height differences in the plants are believed to distract the fruit flies.

I was so impressed by the farm’s ability to produce such delicious produce without any pesticides or GMOs. Smith is a strong advocate against GMOs, especially genetically-modified corn, since Namibia and South Africa are the two main countries that eat corn as a staple food – much of the subsidized GMO corn in the U.S. is used for bio-fuel and not consumption. Smith’s organic farm also has their own bee hives, which have not been affected in the slightest by the mysterious colony collapse disorder that has swept the United States and is believed by some to be linked to Monsanto GMO crops.

South Africa recently opened their borders to Monsanto’s GMO seeds, and the backlash from environmental activists has been enormous. The strain of corn being used in South Africa contains one of the two active ingredients in the infamous Agent Orange, also a product of Monsanto. The Green Times reports that exposure to 2,4-D corn has been linked to non-Hodgkins lymphoma and has been shown in studies to cause birth defects, neurological damage, and interference with reproductive organs. Unfortunately anti-GMO activists have had difficulty actually proving the link between Monsanto GMOs and cancer.

Either way, the thought of eating food infused and/or sprayed with chemicals that were based off of the chemicals used in Nazi gas chambers is not appealing. Thankfully Namibia has not yet allowed GMO seeds into the country. Imported food in the grocery stores is not exempt though.

South African activists are pushing petitions to ban Monsanto GMOs in the country. In spite of their efforts, Monsanto maintains a worldwide monopoly on the agriculture industry. Big money means big power and big influence in politics as we’ve seen year after year through Monsanto’s powerful lobbyists and lawyers. I agree with Smith though, the power to the change the system lies in the hands of the consumers. Slowly, but surely, I think consumers will open their eyes to the damage of Monsanto’s chemicals and change the demand “back to basics” and the innovative technology that organic farming entails.

So while in Namibia we took a short trip to the south where we examined community-based resource management. It was exciting that we’ve now seen nearly every corner of Namibia.  Also, while learning Khoekhoegowab this semester (the language of our rural host family) we had high school students come and tutor us.  The language is a compilation of Damara (spoken in the Khorixas area) and Nama (a language spoken in the south) and some of the students were from this area, so it was interesting to see where they were from.  Our main purpose though was to compare some of the areas that are trying to implement programs similar to the ones Namibia has won awards for and some challenges they are facing.

Namibia has been praised internationally for its successful conservation programs and just last month, Namibia was awarded the Markhor Award for the conservation of biological diversity and human livelihoods by the International Council for Game and Wildlife Conservation. The award was presented at the 11th annual United Nations Biodiversity Conference in India.

During apartheid, land was owned predominately by whites, forcing black Namibians onto small plots of land with few resources or animals. The only way for many of these farmers to survive was through poaching. Poaching intensified during the 70s and 80s amid drought and war, resulting in a near extinction of many animals.

In the 90s, Namibia thought of a way to turn poachers into gamekeepers by shifting to a policy of community-based resource management, where farmers live hand-in-hand with wildlife in designated conservancies.

The programs have been very successful in the northwest Kunene region where Hartmann’s mountain zebra numbers have grown to 27,000 from only 1,000 in 1982. Namibia has the largest black rhino population in the world, and the number of desert-adapted elephants is five times higher than in 1982.

The combined total earnings of Namibia’s conservancies total more than US$4.8 million, derived mainly from trophy hunting and tourism. Private-public partnerships are at the heart of the program’s success in places like the Torra conservancy in northwest Namibia, where the private Damaraland Camp pays rent to the conservancy and hires locals  in exchange for running a luxury lodge that brings in large-scale tourism, job creation, marketing, and training for local employees.

Conservancies in the south seem to be in a very different situation than those in the north, however, as we learned on our travel seminar this weekend. Mr. Davids, a former employee of the Namibian Development Trust (NDT), told our group that conservancies in the south struggle to sustain themselves without the big-5 game animals. The money southern conservancies do make, which is roughly US$11,400 goes directly to operational costs.

The Ganigobes community campsite where we stayed one night in southern Namibia began as a project of the NDT back in 2007. Since its inauguration in 2010, the campsite has only had 2 overnight groups (both CGE groups). They are also struggling to get plumbing set up due to government and money-related issues.

The program has since lost its EU funding, and the NDT has been forced to close down as well. Without funding, the campsite struggles to market itself. In order to just put up a road sign, they need to be registered with the Namibian Tourism Board, which can take ages to accomplish with all the bureaucracy it entails.

The community in Ganigobes is in the process of applying for conservancy status in hopes that as a conservancy, the community will be able to buy game animals at a cheaper rate to attract more visitors to the area. Even with more springbok and ostriches, the Ganigobes community still lacks the big-5 animals and is not likely to prosper to the extent of Namibia’s northern conservancies without government funding or support from private-partnerships with the already-established luxury resorts in the region.

Regardless, the Ganigobes campsite, as well as the Brukkaros campsite where we stayed our second night, are both beautiful. The landscape is gorgeous and the sunsets are breathtaking. Ganigobes has a hot spring and a view of the mountain. They also have drinking water, but no plumbing. The Brukkaros campsite does not have water, but it situated right at the base of the mountain, so if you like hiking, be sure to check it out! We spent our third night at a private lodge near Mariental, Namibia. They have indoor lodges with showers, electricity, etc. but they also have very nice campsites with electricity, showers, toilets, and a kitchen area (just tables, shelves, and a sink).

While the private lodge was very nice, it did not have the same hiking or breathtaking landscape. The lodge is perfect for the traditional Namibian tourist, eager to set out on a game safari drive or lounge by the pool and drink at the bar. I enjoyed all three sites, and while the third lodge has the ‘comforts of home,’ I still enjoy the occasional rustic camping trip to the community sites where you can be left alone in nature without the distractions of other loud tourists.