!Nara - Fruit for development of the !Khuiseb Topnaar
The melon-like fruit as inseparable part of the culture of the Topnaar people along the !Khuiseb
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Beschreibung
The !nara* (Acanthosicyos horridus) is a leafless, spiny bush that is found only in the Namib Desert. Its melon-like fruit has, for Centimes, been an inseparable part of the culture of the local Topnaar people (also called +Aonin), who live along the ephemeral !Khuiseb River as subsistence farmers. Recent changes both in the socio-economic conditions of the Topnaar and in fruit production of !nara prompted the initiation of the NARA programme (Natural Resource management by the +Aonin), jointly coordinated by the Topnaar Community Foundation and the Desert Research Foundation of Namibia.
NARA has focused on questions concerning !nara plant productivity, sustainability, management, and utilisation, both as a food commodity and cash crop. Recent ecological studies described in the text show that access of the roots to groundwater underlying the sandy desert environment is the most decisive requirement for !naras, and that the plants have surprisingly low efficiency of water use.
Jackals and gerbils serve as crucial vectors of seed dispersal, while solitary bees and blister beetles are the most important pollinators. Large herbivores, especially domestic donkeys, often cause considerable damage to !naras by feeding on flowers, immature fruit and seedlings. A socio-economic study examines the current market and economic importance of !nara, and identifies factors that may enable current Topnaar suppliers of !nara products to become self-sufficient small-scale marketers. The community envisions that this can be achieved by working together to form a !nara co-operative and diversifying !nara products and markets. Recommendations in this book, derived from discussions and workshops with scientists and Topnaar community members, aim to improve the economic self-sufficiency of rural !Khuiseb Topnaar. This could be achieved with !nara, a traditional commodity that builds on their existing experience, strengthens their cultural image, and suits their natural, arid environment.
Autor*in
J Henschel