The details
!Khwa ttu, the San Education and Culture Centre, is situated 70 km north-west of Cape Town in the Cape Floral Kingdom.
A UNESCO World Heritage site, it offers an enriching experience of an immersive journey into the world of the descendants of the first indigenous people of Southern Africa. The !Khwa ttu Museum showcases a variety of artifacts and historical photos curated by The San community, exhibitions are interactive and engage the mind and body.
Visitors get a new understanding of The San spirit and survival as a community. In two rooms, they present San origins stories and art, alongside the latest archaeological and genetic findings about human origins.
Their colonial farm building tells the difficult story of colonisation and brings San history up to date with contemporary community displays. The museum is an immersive building that takes visitors into to the heart of San life in the Kalahari. San guides introduce visitors to the knowledge and skills of some of the world’s last hunter-gatherers.
!Khwa ttu also offers three tours; The San Guided Experience which is led by qualified San Tour Guides, who share the stories of their history, traditional knowledge, skills, languages, customs and ancient survival skills. This tour also includes a drive through unspoiled fynbos to a replica village, where visitors can discover how to 'read' the landscape, the flora and the fauna.
The Heritage Centre Tour involves viewing the exhibition with a San guide, who contextualises key exhibitions and stories in the museum, demonstrating the skills and knowledge of San, while telling the archaeological story of origins.
The Garden Tour is a walking tour that includes a tea ceremony, where visitors will learn the special healing qualities of indigenous plants, of San click, punctuated languages, and the lost art of storytelling.
A thriving non-profit establishment that has been providing jobs and practical residential training for San youth since 1999, !Khwa ttu attracts many tourists and locals with its restaurant that sources fresh and local food straight from the farm and accommodation options ranging from tucked-away farm cottages, guest houses to furnished tents with open-air showers and a communal boma, where zebra, eland, springbok, and night hares can be spotted. Running, hiking and biking trails are open for visitors to explore.