Process

Here you can read the complete process of how Treesleeper Camp was build up. This text all comes from the ‘old’ website, which was meant to keep donors and other stakeholders up to date. In these days the FSTN was actively supporting the setting up process of Treesleeper Camp from Windhoek and Tsintsabis. I (Stasja) have stopped writing for this at the end of 2006 because by then the plan to leave Tsintsabis had become more serious. In the end I have left Tsintsabis by June 2007, simply because the main role of the FSTN was over by then. Therefore the underneath text contains the process from January 1999 until December 2006.

December 2006:
The cultural centre is getting up and running. The grass roof is on top and the solar panel has been installed. We are now busy working on the road at the camp site because heavy rains are coming soon.

October 2006:
The basics of the cultural centre are standing up. At the moment some professional grass roof builders are busy putting the grass on top. Apart from that, the last few months have been quite successful regarding tourism. The months of July and August are high season in Namibia and while building the cultural centre we also got quite a few tourists in, which is obviously a positive development for the future of Treesleeper Camp.

May 2006:
The last few months have specifically been busy regarding trainings. Also, the preparation for the cultural centre is currently taking place. The cultural centre will be built during the months of July, August and September. Again the Foundation Wilde Ganzen is willing to help with the fundraising. They will double the amount we raise. If you are willing to help us, please put in your donation on ‘Giro 40.000’ of Stichting Wilde Ganzen in Hilversum, Holland. Mention ‘Tsintsabis’. Thanks for your support! Also, Raleigh International will help with the building again. A volunteer for the FSTN, Miss Toos Verbruggen, is currently raising money in Holland for the programme of Wilde Ganzen. At the same time a building designing and advising  company is helping us voluntary to fully design the cultural centre. This is E3VS from Eindhoven, Holland.

January 2006:
A happy new year to all of you who are following this project! While building continues, more and more tourists are slowly coming to Treesleeper Camp.  The plans for 2006 are clear: We would like to add a ‘cultural centre’ on the camp, and apart from that finalise the building and work on marketing so that more tourists will come and visit Treesleeper Camp. By now three activities are offered for tourists: a bushwalk, a village tour and traditional dancing. Eight people have voluntarily run the Half Marathon of Egmond to raise money for the activities of the FSTN. It was the third year in a row that many people have run there for the FSTN. If you want to support this run please donate on bank account no. 42 42 79 649 of the ‘Stichting Duurzaam Toerisme’ in Utrecht, Holland.

August 2005:
On the 14th of August the first tourists have visited Treesleeper Camp. Even though building is still continuing, we are ready to receive tourists from now on. The FSTN nowadays has a Newsletter, please contact us if you are interested in the activities of the FSTN so we can put you on the mailing list. Look at the Picture Gallery, which will give you a better impression of the building work we are doing. On the 7th of September Stasja has been invited by UNAM (University of Namibia) to explain more about Treesleeper Camp in a guest lecture. It is a good sign that now even the scientific world shows interest in this process.

May 2005:
And the building continues…

February 2005:
At the last moment Ferry has decided to join also for the Egmond run on the 9th of January. He ran the quarter marathon and finished it. Probably due to the tsunami in Asia it has not been as successful as the year before. Nonetheless in February 2005 we have reached the ‘second limit’ for Wilde Ganzen-ICCO. A special thanks in this case to the Foundation Kune Zuva, who have seriously supported us in reaching this final limit. Also we would specifically like to thank Wilde Ganzen-ICCO, NCDO and Cordaid for supporting us all along so far and for giving Treesleeper Camp this chance!

The building on the plot has now started. In December 2004 already a hole in the ground has been drilled. The hole is 70 meters deep, which is not even so much according to Namibian standards. In February the pump has been constructed. This pump works on solar energy. Raleigh International has said to come and help with some of the harder construction work. The people of Raleigh will work together with local people, which is obviously essential in a community project. So their involvement means partly training local people while at the same time learning from them.

November 2004:
During the months of October and November Ferry and Stasja have made the move to Tsintsabis. The Trust is now being called together for every big decision to be made. This means that the community based approach is becoming stronger from now on, which we consider a good development. Work has been done to organise a house and an office in Tsintsabis. For contact with the TT or the FSTN: PO Box 1174, Tsumeb, Namibia. Telephone and/or fax: +264-(0)67-221752.

Also in Holland changes have taken place. Peter has left to Scotland to work on his PhD thesis. We hereby thank Peter for all the work he has done for the FSTN and wish him all the best in Scotland. His future role in the FSTN will be an advisory one more than a practical one. Of course Peter will stay involved with indigenous cultures; his PhD will be about native people in North America. His last achievement for the FSTN was a big interview in the ‘Hoogeveensche Courant’ about him and the Treesleeper project. For the practical work in Holland someone else has now taken Peter’s place. We like to introduce to you Willem den Heeten. Willem is an anthropologist from Utrecht. He already worked here and there for the FSTN, predominantly as the photographer. In 2002 he has visited Tsintsabis when Stasja was in Namibia, so that was in the very early stages. Now he has agreed to work a bit more for the FSTN. Willem, thank you for joining us and welcome!

The Trust has been approached by an organisation called Raleigh International, who could help with construction next year. Raleigh is a voluntary organisation that concentrates strongly on working for and with local communities.

Because Wilde Ganzen-ICCO has recently decided to increase our limit for the project, we now have to continue setting up actions and activities. Of course we have quite a few ideas again, one of them being Stasja running the half marathon of Egmond (Holland) again on the 9th of Januari 2005.

September 2004:
Another article about Treesleeper has appeared in the ‘Op Pad’ magazine of the ANWB. During the month of August an important field trip has been undertaken. The permission by the government has now been given informally; the establishment of the Tsintsabis Trust has therefore proven fruitful already. It is now only a matter of time before this becomes formal. The plan is that Ferry and Stasja will finalise things in Windhoek now and make the definite move to the North in October. In the meantime the local people of the Trust have started to organise tourism activities. A handyman has been hired for the office of the Tsintsabis Trust, which means the first employee in Tsintsabis because of Treesleeper Camp is a fact! Also, many tour operators have responded positively and requests for bookings have already come in. This is a very good sign, since in the end Treesleeper Camp has to become a serious business to become self-reliable. The plan is now to open up formally on the first of August 2005.

July 2004:
The Tsintsabis Trust (TT) has officially been established by the Master of the High Court in Windhoek with the help of the Legal Assistance Centre (LAC), for which we sincerely thank the LAC. This Namibian legal body is very important for Treesleeper. Most of the work for Treesleeper will be done by and through the Tsintsabis Trust from now on, while the FSTN will play an important role in the background (for example for funding from Holland). The project is slowly evolving from Windhoek towards Tsintsabis; a car has been bought by the FSTN and this makes field trips a lot easier. The last big step to be taken in Windhoek is now only the government lease from the Ministry of Lands, Resettlement and Rehabilitation (MLRR), after which the big move to the North of the country can be made. In the meantime Wild Goose has paid attention to the project in their newsletter. In July the limit for the Wild Goose – ICCO PremiePlusPlan has been achieved, which means that the funding from them and from the NCDO will now soon be definite. Hereby we thank them and all the people who have helped with activities in Holland, all the runners of Egmond and everybody else who donated and/or raised money for Treesleeper. Also, Ferry has been busy with marketing the project to Windhoek based tour operators, who so far responded very interested.

April 2004:
More articles about Treesleeper appear in VakantiePartners, Global Dutch and the Fortis Tribune. In Namibia Stasja is working on creating the Tsintsabis Trust and finalizing the lease agreement with the government. The NCDO (Dutch Commission for Sustainable Development) and Cordaid have both decided to support the project now, while funding is still coming in for the PremiePlusPlan of the Wild Goose-ICCO Foundation. Ferry arrives in Namibia at the beginning of April.

January 2004:
Another article about the project appears in Indigo magazine and Metro newspaper. In addition a sponsored run was held on January 11th in Egmond. About 25 people participated in this 7 or 21 kilometre run to raise funding for the project. Thank you all for your great effort in supporting the project! Stasja goes to Namibia at the end of January.

December 2003:
Ferry Bounin joins Stasja on the project and together they start the Foundation for Sustainable Tourism in Namibia (FSTN). Two more persons join the FSTN: Jan Peter Loovers and dr. Walter van Beek. While Stasja and Ferry will work on the project in Namibia, Peter and Walter support the project from Holland.

June 2003:
Back in Holland Stasja again contacts the Wild Goose-ICCO Foundation. They point out to be willing to support the project through their PremiePlusPlan. This Plan compromises that gifts in Holland, raised by the setting up and executing of activities, will be multiplied by three.

May 2003:
In Namibia Stasja now co-operates with the NGO’s NACOBTA (Namibian Community Based Tourism Association) and the NDT (Namibia Development Trust). In Holland an article appears in the Indigo magazine of the Netherlands Centre for Indigenous Peoples (NCIV). Stasja visits Tsintsabis several more times and the name for the project is created. ‘Treesleeper Camp’ (‘Hei//omn Camp’) is born.

December 2002:
Stasja leaves to Namibia for 7,5 months on a voluntary basis. He talks with the government, local NGO’s and of course the people of Tsintsabis. It is obvious that there still is a lot of enthusiasm in the village for the project.

August 2002:
Stasja writes a development plan and starts lobbying. He receives a lot of positive reactions, but he soon finds out that he needs support from within Africa: the idea of going back to Namibia is born and the project gets to a more serious level. In Holland the Wild Goose-ICCO Foundation shows serious interest. They are considering the project for their PremiePlusPlan.

January 1999:
Stasja Koot arrives in the small village of Tsintsabis, for his final research of his cultural anthropology studies. He stays there for over five months to do research into the living circumstances on a so-called ‘resettlement area’, with a predominantly Hei//omn Bushmen population. During this period the people of Tsintsabis have asked Stasja to help them setting up community based tourism.