Day 11--Homeb

Topnaar Family

This morning, we drove a ways from the campsite to visit the Topnaar people. There are some Topnaar people living at the campsite, but they see tourists frequently. In order to get a more accurate representation of who they are and how they live.

The Topnaar people were the first people to be influenced by the Western world when the colonization of Africa began. Thus, their houses appear less shambled, they're larger, they have more belongings, and they are more influenced by technology. Like the Nama people, the Topnaar houses were built of random tin and wood materials pieced together. However, where the Nama family we visited had only two or three small structures, the Topnaar family's home consisted of several rooms connected to form a decent-sized home. Each room served a distinct purpose for the Topnaars, but for the Nama, the rooms were multifunctional. The Nama people did not have many belongings, but the Topnaar had everything from pots and pans to Western toys. They Nama people told us that they listen to the radio, but we didn't see the radio or its antenna. Almost all the Topnaar houses had radio antennas and in the home of the family we visited, the radio was in a prominent position and playing.

The encounter with the Topnaar family was more awkward and strained than with the Nama. I think it may have been because there were no children at the Topnaar home; they were all at school.

Since animals are these people's bank account, it was obvious that this family was better off. They had many chickens, ducks, and cattle.

After leaving the Topnaar family, we visited to Gobabeb research facility. They mostly moniter weather conditions of the area and develop water and energy conservation techniques. They get 70% of their energy from solar panels that is then stored in batteries. The other 30% of their energy comes from diesel generators. They are used only to keep the batteries charged at night to maintain their efficiency. They are very aware of their water and energy consumption. For example, their water is heated by the sun and the water pressure is produced by gravity. Thus, no energy is used in the production and usage of hot water.

Although the research center was very interesting and informative, I could never imagine working at a place like that. It is so isolated from the rest of the world and the research seems so mundane. Most of the workers live there for a least a year. That's a very long time to be disconnected from the world.

After we got back to the campsite, we napped and then played games. Clark accidentally shot a cow with a blow dart gun--the first animal he had ever shot!

Before dinner, we drove to watch the sun set. Like always, it was beautiful!