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As IYX Africa the foundation of our work begins on the ground through our remote assistance efforts which allows us to interact with and experience communities first hand; their joys and struggles, cultures and environments and allows us deeper insight into possible solutions for a sustainable future.
This passion to provide remote assistance to impoverished communities has sparked an new initiative called #IYXMOVE.
The #IYXMOVE initiative is a mobile hub that aims to travel the length and breath of Southern Africa and will tell stories, ignite fires and document vital information through IYX Radio as well as provide workable solutions to indigenous communities living throughout this region. The mobile hub will essentially be a moving natural clinic, classroom, library, cultural centre and sustainable vehicle that will touch base with the Urban and Rural dwelling indigenous peoples of Southern Africa located in towns and rural areas that many have not heard of.
To assist IYX Africa in purchasing a trailer for #iyxmove kindly donate here:
Years of oppression have left the SAN with limited access to highly degraded land. Their cultural development has not been supported, which is threatening their languages, Indigenous Knowledge Systems, and rights’ of passage and spiritual beliefs. Not only are they neglected, suffering acute water and food insecurity due to variable sources of income. The SAN in these regions also experience discrimination from the other ethnic groups they share land with.
If these threats can be minimised and communities supported to develop in ways that support self determination and sufficiency this will bring hope for the future of indigenous youth. Selected youth from this community will also be chosen to take part on our quarterly trainer of trainers camps where youth will be educated in practical based Agroecology workshops at our Trainer or Trainers camps.
IYX Africa wants to equip youth with the necessary skills that will allow them to be the driving force behind the sustainable development of their communities. In order to achieve this IYX Africa will workshop youth that have been identified as future leaders of their communities. The workshop will take the form of two week-long camps which will be held in South Africa and Namibia at least twice a year. Agroecology will be the focus of the camps, so that the youth can return home with the knowledge. IYX Africa will provide the selected participants with the relevant support for up to 6 – 8 months (both online and in person) once the workshops have been concluded to ensure that youth do put what they have learnt into practice and feel supported in doing so.
Our workshops will include some of the following focus topics:
• Agroecology
• Environmentalism
• Bush skills
• Sex education
• Gender equality
• Substance abuse
• Mindfulness
In May 2022 IYX Africa partnered with Monde Craft to make our vision a reality by building the Monde Craft Eco-Hub where the !Xun will be displaying their arts, crafts, song and dance. The Eco-Hub will commemorate the struggles of the San in Southern Africa.. The hub will also create the opportunity to earn an income for the community from tourism but more importantly to document the oral tradition passed down from generations. The SAN belief systems, customs and language will be recorded to ensure it will be passed on to future generations . It will also provide a meeting place for !Xun leadership in the community.
Most of the building has been built with naturally available materials to show how to apply natural design principles and reflect indigenous culture and the garden has been developed using the principles of Agroecology to feed the community and provide natural-indigenous medicines for illnesses that are prevalent in this community.
Project Mantis was a project started by IYX Africa’s CEO Mr Craige “Q7” Beckett when he was living and working as a healer in Platfontein for a period of 5 years. Project Mantis was a vision he put in place to develop Platfontein Northern Cape by using the indigenous knowledge of the !Xun tribe. The knowledge they have inherited is their most valuable asset. He believed that by developing key infrastructure within Platfontein this would give rise to income generation for many of the residents and the community at large. The first stage of Project mantis was to build a food garden using the principles of agroecology and a gallery where indigenous art can be displayed.
The #saveoursan campaign was created to raise awareness about the current state of living conditions and human rights violations in SAN communities within the SADC region as well as to support and assist in developing SAN communities from the !XOON, !!Kung, Ju| Hoansi and N|OHAN tribes of the Omaheke Region of Namibia as well as the !XUN tribe of Platfontein in the Northern Cape of South Africa.
These communities are some of the last San people in Southern Africa and are in desperate need of food and water security solutions. These peoples hold indigenous knowledge and rich cultural histories that are vitally important and IYX Africa believes it should be preserved and protected. The communities are at high risk due to tuberculosis (TB), HIV, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) and now Covid-19.
We believe it is time the world heard the cries of the oldest people, the San, who have thus far been forgotten. IYX Africa believes that the #saveoursan campaign will create momentum for the San communities in Omaheke and Platfontein. IYX Africa aims to bring the relevant skills into these communities to enable movement in a direction of self-determination through our trainers of trainers camps, additional assistance as well as through IYX Radio’s documentation of the state of living and their rich cultural languages and customs.
IYX Africa believes that most impact is made on the ground as we connect directly with the natural environment, communities and individuals. The #indigiwalk movement was borne from this principle and each year the walk seeks to support a particular campaign.
In 2021 The year started with the, “Khoe San and Friends Walk to Save the Okavango Delta” this walk was peaceful protest where we walked from Knysna to Cape Town in protest against the Canadian Oil exploration in the Kavango region of Namibia and Botswana. IYX Africa also handed over a signed petition and official objection to the Namibian Consulate General in Cape Town in opposition to these events in SAN homelands.
Read about the journey here >> https://bit.ly/3QnotgY
