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Current Projects

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 genuinely 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 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 could be established; genealogical 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 assistance. Construction has begun on a high speed internet connection in Nyae Nyae, Namibia to facilitate materials production, 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!

Maun Wood-Sculpture Workshop with sculptors from New Xade and Kacgae Village in Botswana: Supported by KPF (June-July 2020)

Prior Updates:

  • In Namibia, our COVID-19 illustrated posters in English and several Kalahari languages were officially adopted by Namibia's Ministry of Health and Social Services for use throughout the country.

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  • In South Africa, we began supporting the translation of COVID-19 materials into !Xun and Khwedam.

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  • To combat TB (which makes San even more susceptible to COVID-19), KPF is partnering with a group of British volunteers to fund ongoing TB treatment and research in the Nyae Nyae area of Namibia after government funding was withdrawn in March 2020.

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  • In Namibia, KPF began funding the translation and dissemination of Coronavirus materials for Ju|'hoansi, !Xun, and Himba communities in Tsumkwe, Tsumkwe West, Na Jaqna Conservancy, and Kaokoveld. 

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  • In South Africa, we provided COVID-19 prevention & health information to the ǂKhomani San.

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  • In South Africa, KPF received a 10,000 ZAR pledge from the Council of the South African Archaeological Society to support our translation efforts and pamphlet printing.

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  • In Botswana, KPF provided help to unemployed San workers at Dqae Qare Game Farm, D'kar.

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  • Across Southern Africa, KPF worked with local contacts to gather information on COVID-19 infection rates in March and April 2020, as follows:

    • Namibia - 16 infections, 10 recoveries

    • Lesotho - No COVID-19 cases (see update here)

    • Botswana - 21 active cases, 1 death, no recoveries

    • Zimbabwe - 23 active cases, 3 deaths, 2 recoveries

    • Mozambique - 33 active cases, no deaths, 8 recoveries

    • Angola - 17 active cases, 2 deaths, 6 recoveries

    • Zambia - 36 active cases, 3 deaths, more than 30 recoveries

    • Malawi - 17 active cases, 3 deaths, 3 recoveries

    • South Africa - 2,515 active cases, 65 deaths, and 1,055 recoveries​

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