A new centre, !Khwa ttu focuses on providing South Africans with a deeper understanding of the heritage of the South African San people and will launch its Heritage centre on 24 September 2018.
The centre functions as a training and cultural centre, offering visitors an enriching experience of the San culture and heritage along with uplifting the existing San community.
The centre is located a mere hours drive out of Cape Town and during spring it is covered in Namaqualand daisies.
The founders, WIMSA, a leading advocacy group for the San, and the Ubuntu Foundation, a non-profit Swiss organisation, began creating !Khwa ttu in 1999 and have established an organisation that provides adult training in tourism, entrepreneurship, community-based development for members of the San youth.
!Khwa ttu will host the opening of its newly structured Heritage centre on Heritage Day and has been established by San people, along with the efforts of the !Khwa ttu team, to create a hub of the history and culture of the San community.
The Heritage Centre is built into the land lines of the ridge overlooking towards Yzerfontein and the Atlantic Ocean. The structure is themed to contemporary architecture.
Visit !Khwa ttu
The centre provides a one-stop location to experience the natural landscape from the zebras, eland and various other animals on the property to the hiking and mountain bike trails available.
The land was developed over 15 years to provide a safe haven for San people to grow and for visitors to experience the history of the ‘first people’.
!Khwa ttu offers rustic luxury tented camp accommodation for guests and is a unique experience in the Cape.
All visitors are encouraged to take part in a guided tour on the San-led trails, the traditional tea ceremony, click-punctuated storytelling and first-hand experience of how to track animals the traditional San way.
There is a restaurant on the premises and a tailor-made arts and crafts shop for you to purchase a memoir from the centre.
The centre will host a heritage festival from 22- 24 September and guests are invited to enjoy a traditional San celebration filled with dancing, singing and tractor rides and learning about the San people around a fire.
Head to the !Kwha ttu centre this coming Heritage Day.
Check out the local Heritage Day events in Cape Town along with free access to the Iziko Museums for Heritage Month.
Picture: !Khwa ttu