© Kalahari Peoples Fund 2010 Current Projects Kalahari Peoples Network  Kalahari Peoples Network is a project of, and strongly linked to, the Kalahari  Peoples Fund. It is designed to be just that bit in advance of a change that is  rapidly taking place in even the most remote rural communities. High-speed  connections are being installed and gradually improved. People speaking San  languages are working on computers, communicating and learning through  them. The Internet has arrived. Launched in late July, 2008, the site has already proved to be a focus of  interest. But this is just the beginning. It will take time to build confidence  and skills in new writers. It will take time to collect and collate material that  is currently stored all over the world, all over the web. So view this, please,  as a starting point. We welcome contributions from anyone with an item of  news, a photograph to share, a point to raise, a link to their own website to  publicise; a story to tell.  To submit a new item to KPN, please email us at  media@kalaharipeoples.net, or vist our website: kalaharipeoples.net.  Central Kalahari Game Reserve Support  KPF is one of a large group of non-governmental and quasi-governmental  organizations, both in Southern Africa and outside of it, that concern  themselves with the troubled situation of the G/wi and G//ana Bushmen and  other peoples of Botswana's Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR).  KPF's  role within this important grouping has been to provide factual information  for legal actions taken on behalf of the peoples of the CKGR--before and  after the recent landmark success of their suit to be allowed to return to the  reserve. Nyae Nyae Village Schools Project: Alternative Mother-  Tongue Education KPF was the principal founder of the well-known Nyae Nyae Village Schools  Project in Namibia.  This project provides for the Ju/'hoan San a genunely  alternative challenge to the authoritative national school system they had  tried and refused.  Twenty years ago KPF provided expertise in Ju/'hoansi, a  click language of the Kalahari, and knowledge of the Ju/'hoan Bushmen (San)  communities to respond to these people's request for a literate form of their  language and appropriate schooling to go with it.  At present, two subsequent  classes of local teachers have been trained to teach the Ju/'hoan language to  students in grades 1-4.  This project provides a bridge to the English while  teaching and respecting traditional knowledge, and has been a pilot for other  such projects in Africa. Community Water and Resource Development  KPF has provided major funding and consultation to a group of projects in  Namibia and Botswana that fall under the heading of Community-Based  Natural Resource Management (CBNRM).  Funding has supported borehole  drilling so that water and land rights coud be established; geneological work  and land use mapping to support land claims; local community development  liaison officers to consult for and monitor collective action projects; the  provision of professional environmental information to support sustainable  development; and the protection of community water supplies against  elephant depradation.  Kalahari Healing Narratives, Folklore and Oral History KPF has been asked to provide training so that the San and other peoples of  the Kalahari can themselves produce texts and visual materials for their  community schools and archives.  To fulfill this request, KPF members who  are professional linguists and anthropologists are calling on over three  decades of informed knowledge of the languages and traditions of these  peoples.  Computer literacy and training in digital recording technology  began in 2001 and will continue for as long as there is a community desire for  this assistence.  Construction has begun on a high speed internet connection  in Nyae Nyae, Namibia to facilitate materials produciton, archiving and  access.  To read more about folklore and oral history, please visit our  Resources page. Administrative Support For almost 40 years, KPF's projects have been carried out with the volunteer  labor of professional anthropologists, linguists, educators and writers.   Though our overhead costs are minimal, KPF relies on your donations for the  administrative expenses necessary to support all of our projects.  We  appreciate your help!  Past Projects