J1049N Eco-frontiers, Ancient and Modern

Ancestral knowledge, modern needs

This Project aims at preserving and promoting the ancient arts of Southern Africa’s deep time foragers while simultaneously fostering a passion for wilderness and wildlife amongst selected outstanding youngsters.

The Ju/’hoansi of the remote Nyae Nyae region of Namibia are the last of the San (Bushmen) hunter-gatherers of the Greater Kalahari who still command the full suite of their extraordinary heritage. Only a handful of the Ju/’hoansi, men and women, have been recognized as the remaining indigenous Master Trackers.

The Project supports the Ju/'hoansi Trackers Association preserve and promote “the old way” among the local communities’ upcoming generation, and connects them with wilderness trail opportunities in the Greater Kruger National Park and other conservancies in Southern Africa.

Since 2023, the Master Trackers have also been assisting palaeontologists on the South Cape coast find and interpret ancient tracks of hominins and animals, extending the frontiers of knowledge over our origins and Africa’s past ecology.

In a linked exercise, youngsters as young as twelve from a range of schools are chosen to experience wilderness immersion in the Greater Kruger National Park and other Southern African conservancies. They are selected on the strength of their budding leadership, their enthusiasm for the environment and their potential to give back to conservation in years to come. Master Trackers regularly join these trails to demonstrate and share their prowess.

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