Creating opportunities for
new farmers
How a mother and son duo is using biomass to continue their family farming dream
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emodelling of tenure rights and redistribution of land, using a willing buyer and willing seller method and benefiting the landless and the previously disadvantaged, is what the Namibian Government Resettlement Programme is about. Johanna Intamba and her husband were eager to become farmers and began searching. Says Johanna, “We had been looking for a piece of land from the Government Resettlement Programme, but could not get one.” Eventually they found a farm they could rent, and which would become available to buy in the near future. Then, just as their dreams were falling into place, tragedy struck as Johanna’s husband passed away in the same year the farm became available to purchase. Johanna, however, decided to continue with her and her husband’s shared dream in her own capacity. “I bought the farm with a loan from Agribank and registered it in my name. But from there I had to start paying Agribank back.” Johanna’s farm is close to Grootfontein, in the Otjozondjupa Region of central Namibia. “I’m a cattle farmer, and I’ve been a cattle farmer since 2012. In 2019 we lost about 70 cattle due to drought. There was no rain and then corona also started. My son is the one who introduced me to charcoal,” says Johanna, who adds that they might have had difficulty repaying their loans without their charcoal business during these difficult times. Johanna’s son Matti and his charcoal production Johanna’s son, Matti Intamba, explains: “I was a student when my dad passed away. So I made a decision to leave my studies and go to the farm. In the beginning, I used Google to find out what to do on the farm, and then I started visiting and talking to my neighbours. I found out what type of projects they are doing, since we have a similar type of soil. The majority of them were talking about charcoal.” “That’s when I approached my mom and said, ‘I think we need to do this.’ This was in 2016, and slowly but surely I started with a few drums. I struggled in the beginning and my mom said that if I quit school, I have to help with the expenses. After we
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The workers see the commitment, and as long as you are transparent with them, you’ll have happy workers.
