Jackson
Montgomery Roper
(Monty)
Associate Professor of Anthropology
Grinnell
College
204 Goodnow Hall
Grinnell, IA 50112
Tel: (641) 269-3017
roperjm@grinnell.edu
Home | Research | Courses | CV
Student Research Opportunities
Off-Campus Study Information for ACM Costa Rica, ICADS, and MSID Ecuador
Southern Africa Seminar (May 21-June 12, 2004)
Purpose of this page: Shortly after commencement, I was fortunate to participate in a faculty development seminar to southern Africa. The seminar participants include George Drake, David Campbell, Jean Ketter, Vicki Bentley-Condit, Jenny Anger, Dan Reynolds, Chris Connelly, Leslie Delminico, Elizabeth Prevost and me. Nadia Manning ('02) provided much of the logistics for the group in Africa and accompanied us on the trip. We traveled to Lesotho, Namibia, and South Africa
This page will provide information on the trip and access to resources from the region that were identified through the trip.
LESOTHO
- Travel Log
- Powerpoint Slide Show (warning, this powerpoint file is 26 mb). (Htm version of slide show.)
- Videos (these range from 2-10 mb)
NAMIBIA
- Travel Log
- Slide Show (warning, this powerpoint file is 28 mb). (Htm version of the slide show.)
SOUTH AFRICA
- Travel Log
- Slide Show (warning, this powerpoint file is 23 mb). (Htm version of the slide show.)
- Video: De Hoop Reserve beach panoramic view
Travel Logs
Lesotho is a small highland country (30,350 km2) that is landlocked by South Africa. The population is just under 2 million and is composed nearly 100% of the Sotho ethnic group, though there are also a number of Zulu communities, most of which came to escape apartheid South Africa. The economy is closely tied to South Africa. Water is one of the primary exports and many men work in mines in SA and send funds back to their families. Villages practice agropastoralism: cattle and other livestock are herded on communal lands and individuals are given rights over farming plots.
The trip to Lesotho was primarily intended to visit the St. Rodrigue mission school where each year Grinnell College sends two alumni through the Grinnell Corps program to teach classes at the girls secondary school. At the time of our visit the two Grinnell fellows were Allison Brown and Lauren Wright. George Drake, the group leader, and Sue Drake also served in the Peace Corps for two years at the mission in the early 1990s.
While at the mission, the men stay in one set of dormitories and the women in another. Our food is prepared by a group of the nuns and we eat our meals in the nuns’ dining room. The men’s dormitory has a shared bath and each the nuns bring in buckets of hot water those who wish to bathe.
Our activities while at St. Rodrigue include visits to classes in both the primary school (boys and girls) and the secondary school (girls only). Both schools also put on entertainment for us. We meet with the teachers and nuns on separate occasions and have regular interaction with both groups over the course of our stay. We also visit two communities, each within an hour walk of the mission and speak with community leaders and other members. Finally, we take a day hike up “Drake’s Mountain” (not the real name), which provides a great view of the mission and the surrounding mountains and valleys.
After leaving St. Rodrigue, we visit the University in Roma and finally Thaba Bosiu, the location where King Moshoeshoe held off boar efforts to conquer and colonize the region.
Itinerary:
• Sunday, May 23: Arrive in Maseru around 5 pm and drive to St.
Rodrigue.
• Monday, May 24:
o We introduce ourselves at a general assembly of the secondary school and then visit various classes through the morning.
o In the early afternoon, we have an informal reception with the teachers.
o In the afternoon, we return to the auditorium and there is a presentation by some of the students, which includes singing and dancing (see video).
• Tuesday, May 25:
o In the morning we visit a neighboring village where the chief of 5 nearby villages lives. He is unable to meet with us because of a conflicting appointment, but we meet with the deputy chief, another elder leader and the deputy chief’s son. The latter has worked as an engineer, spending time in numerous countries, including the US, and helped to develop the internet system in the Lesotho. We are accompanied on this visit by Sipho Sibizi, one of the teachers from the secondary school.
o In the afternoon, we visit the community of Ha Tsu. Our visit is hosted by Leonard Makhanye, who was a primary school teacher at the mission when George was in Peace Corps here, and his wife. The community is on the other side of the mountain from the mission. Most of us walk. One of the cars is also taken. The community is expecting our visit. We split up into three groups and visit with every household in the community. We then visit a new high school that was started in 2002 by Leonard and now has 80 students. The visit goes long and we walk back in the dark (and cold!).
o We dine with all of the nuns and then retire to their community room where we chat. Several of the nuns sing and dance, teaching several of the seminar participants how to do the “shoulder dance.”
• Wednesday, May 26:
o We visit the primary school in the morning and observe several different classes. The different grades then put on a presentation of signing and dancing for us.
o We next visit the clinic at the mission. On this day, pregnant women and newborns have come in for check-ups and vaccinations.
o After lunch, we hike up “Drake’s Mountain” for a spectacular view of the countryside. We take one of the group photos with the Grinnell Herald Register. The mountain is located directly behind the mission.
o In the evening, the Grinnell Fellows host a party at their house attended by the seminar participants and teachers at the school.
• Thursday, May 27:
oWe leave St. Rodrigue for Roma (on the way to Maseru) where we visit the National University and meet with Political Scientist, Tumelo Tsikoane and ???. He gives a talk on the political landscape, development challenges and culture since the 1980s and a tour of the campus.
o We continue on to our hotel in Maseru (Lancers Inn-Maseru).
o In the afternoon, we meet with the US Ambassador Robert Loftis (http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/biog/6660.htm), who provides an assessment of the US relations with the country and its development challenges.
• Friday, May 28:
o We visit Thaba Bosiu, the birthplace of the Basotho nation and receive a very informative tour of the site.
Here is a little Limmerick on the history:
• At Thaba Bosiu he made hid stand,
• To protect the Basothan home land,
• The Great King Moshoeshoe,
• Held off the boars’ power play,
• And to this day we still honor this man.o Depart for Johannesburg at 5:25.
o Our hotel is the “Courtyard at Sandton”. In the evening we go to a restaurant where we meet Grinnell Trustee Ron Gault.
View the Lesotho Slide Show (26 mb)
Namibia is located on the Atlantic Coast of southern Africa, just north of South Africa. Physically, it is much larger than Lesotho, occupying 825,000 km2. The population is smaller (1.8 million) and more diverse. The region is rich in minerals, particularly diamonds. In 1990, the country gained its independence from apartheid South Africa.
Our primary connection to Namibia is through the Desert Research Foundation of Namibia and the Gobabeb research station. Each year, two Grinnell Corps fellows go to the research station. During our visit, the fellows were Thomas Parr and Mark Lundgren. In the spring of 2004, DRFN director Mary Seely taught a short course at Grinnell on NGOs.
We visited Gobabeb for two nights, touring the facilities and the region around the station. We then traveled to Swakupmund where the group split up. My group spent one night there and then traveled to the Erongo Conservancy via Spitzkoppe, where we stopped and learned about the community management of a park there. The next day the Erongo group did a safari and a part of the group went to Okambahe to speak with members of the Agricultural Development Agency (which is really focused mostly on pastoralism). We over-nighted in Omaruru and then went on to Windhoek where all of the seminar participants reunited and met with members of the DRFN.
• Saturday, May 29:
o We arrive in Windhoek by plane at around 12:40 pm, grab some groceries and head to the DRFN. We meet up with Joh Henschel, director of Gobabeb and then begin our drive out to the research station, seeing much wildlife on the way. David Campbell and I are fortunate to ride with Joh and hear a great deal about the landscape and environment.
o At the station, we meet up with the two Grinnell Corps fellows, Thomas Parr and Mark Lundrgen (read their quarterly reports: http://www.grinnell.edu/offices/SocialCommitment/grinnellcorps/namibia/reports/). Mark has prepared us dinner!
• Sunday, May 30:
o Thomas takes several of us up one of the dunes to watch the sunrise and for a nature walk through the Kuiseb ephemeral river basin. The winds really pick up while we are on the dune and stay strong through most of the day.
o We visit Hope mine (no longer operational) where we hunt for Garnets and then visit a neighboring Topnar community (Homeb?), which has a solar powered bore-hole.
o Mark and Thomas give us a tour of the Gobabeb facility, including a review of the various weather measurement devices. We then take a nature walk through the river basin to a dune where we watch the sunset.
o In the evening, we have a barbecue with the members (staff and visiting researchers) of station. They give powerpoint presentations on their research.
o There is a “Scorpion walk” where we observe a number of UV-luminescent scorpions.
• Monday, May 31:
o We depart Gobabeb for the coast, visiting J.D. Brand primary school in the community of ltuseb on the way.
o We arrive in Walvis Bay for lunch and then travel on to Swakopmund.
o David and I go up the Skeleton Coast hoping to visit a Cape Cross penguin rookery/national park, but we arrive just after it closes. We watch the sun go down over the ocean.
o The group stays the evening at the Schwiezerhous Pension.
• Tuesday, June 1:
o We split into several groups. One stays behind in Swakupmund, the other two leave for the Erongo Conservancy.
o David, Nadia, Lucky (Kenneth Lucky Ganeb) and I take a rural drive on the way to visit the community of Spitzkoppe, where the community is managing a tourist area around a large rocky mountain. We talk to Asnath Tjongarero, the vice coordinator of the site about how the community manages the site. They have applied for conservancy status, and will be designated as such in the next year.
o We then travel on to Erongo where we meet up with the rest of the group. We climb up a rock outcropping and watch the sun go down.
• Wednesday, June 2:
o In the morning, the Erongo group goes on a safari where we see various wildlife, including a troop of baboons. We also visit a very well preserved cave painting.
o Lucky, David and I visit Okambahe in the early afternoon to talk with extension agents at the Agricultural Development Center. We learn about the activities of the extension office and the problems facing livestock management in the region.
o We then meet up with the rest of the Erongo group at a rest lodge in Omaruru and visit a wood carving workshop.
• Thursday, June 3:
o The Erongo group visits a catholic school in the morning (Waldfrieden Mission) and then heads on to Windhoek.
o David, Lucky, Elizabeth Prevost and I take a rural route and observe more wildlife, including warthogs, secretary birds, and a troop of baboons.
o In Windhoek, all of the groups meet up at Villa Verdi.
o We dine at a game restaurant and meet Helmut of GTZ.
• Friday, June 4:
o In the morning, we meet with staff members of the Desert Research Foundation of Namibia (DRFN) and hear a presentation (see resources page) on the activities of the organization.
o We then spend some time walking around Windhoek.
o In the afternoon, we take a plane to Capetown and get settled at the City Lodge on the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront.
View the Namibia Slide Show (28 mb)
• Saturday, June 5:
o Dan and Garret (who has just arrived) learn that their house has burned down and begin plans to return to US.
o Some of the group visits the Aquarium at Victoria and Alfred Waterfront.
o We meet for lunch. The plan to visit Robben Island is cancelled because of high seas.
o The group spends the afternoon exploring the area around the waterfront. This includes a thoroughly modern and very large mall.
• Sunday, June 6:
o In the morning, part of the group visits Green Point market. Chris and I buy some very interesting masks from Cameroon.
We visit the town of Stellenbosch for lunch and then the Vergelegen Winery. We walk around the winery, which has a very long history, and visit a small museum on the site.
• Monday, June 7
o In the morning we meet with a group of tradition healers in Delft Township in the Cape Flats that are working in the Indigenous Knowledge Systems of the Medical Research Council. This is a very new association and the group provides a very nice view of some of the activities of traditional healers, particularly in the context of AIDS work, and the new challenges of working with the western medical institutions (among other topics).
o In the afternoon, we meet Norton Tennille, the director of the Southern Africa Environment Project. He is working with a group of youth. We visit several schools in the black township of Philippe as well as a library. We meet Asanda Gonya, Nosisa Mhlathi, and Nezile Ntutha three interns of SAEP.
• Tuesday, June 8
o David Campbell, Vicki Bentley-Condit and I take a very scenic trip to De Hoop Reserve. Vicki goes out to locate baboons with the local researchers while David and I visit with the fynbos (a unique and diverse South African ecosystem) and the ocean. There is a lot of wildlife in the reserve. I learn about the characteristic plant types of the fynbos.
o In the evening we dine with the local researchers.
• Wednesday, June 9:
o We spend the morning at the reserve and then travel to Cape Agulhas, the southern most point of the African Continent.
• Thursday, June 10:
o The group plans to visit Kirstenbosch gardens and drive around the cape of Good Hope.
o I accompany them to Kistenbosch and then hike up Table Mountain (1 km high) using Smuts Trek. This provides an incredible view of Capetown. I am joined in my hike by Peter from Pretoria who talks candidly with me about the current state of the country (he is very hopeful – ‘we have to make it work’). I hike across the top of Table Mountain and take the cable car down the other side.
o I lunch at the Wharf and then take the 3:00 ferry to Robben Island where I take a tour of the island and the prison where Nelson Mandela and many others were held as political prisoners during apartheid. On the ferry over I meet Siphino X. Tukayi, who was imprisoned on the island for being a student leader. On the island I meet Dr. Laban D. Erapu, a writer who is beginning to plan a book on the prison.
o In the evening the group goes to the Baxter Theatre to see the local production: Church Full of Light.
• Friday, June 11:
o Chris and I have a long lunch with the three SAEP interns, talking about politics, development, education, literature and a range of other subjects.