the reserve and resulted in government notifying the San they would have to leave, due to the blooming diamond industry. It was interesting to have the opportunity to visit with a few San people. They showed us around the land, pointing out various plants they use for traditional medicine. The way they were able to navigate the land and utilize the flora was amazing. Back aches, shoulder pain, stomach aches, are all curable with plants and we learned where to find these natural remedies. We were able to see their traditional home and methods for hunting food. They use traditional tracking methods used for hunting, being able to tell from a single blade of grass, or the gathering of a few twigs, where an animal is!
April 11th
The day of the workshop, we all got up early to greet with community and have tea and biscuits while everyone got settled in. Around 30 members of the community were present, which was an impressive final count.
During the conference, the local farmer’s were informed of predators (such as hyena, lions, African wild dogs and jackal) that reside in the area and trained how to identify these species. In training farmer’s how to identify predators, they can understand that not all predators need to take the blame for the loss of their livestock. The highlight of the workshop was introducing the farmer’s to livestock guarding dog and a structure called a kraal. A kraal is an enclosure constructed of local materials, such as wood and acacia. Walls are build which enclose the livestock in at night, which are protected by both the livestock guarding dog and the thick amount of prickly and extremely thorny acacia. If built correctly, a kraal can play a vital role in protecting livestock.
April 14
Today we arrived back in Maun and had a full day of meetings lined up. The first meeting was with an amazing woman who specializes in storytelling and interpretation of traditional
