Keeping the History

The University of Namibia Neudamm Campus is the agriculture school for Namibia. The campus and farm is on 10,187 hectares, which is about 25,172 acres. The earliest record for the farm is in 1897 when a grazer gave the land to the Land Council because the land had no water. Later on, the land was used to house seized livestock during the German-Herero War. During this time the largest dam in Namibia was built to provide water to the land. The name for the campus came from the building the dam, Neudamm (“New Dam”). It originally started as an agriculture experimental farm in 1909.

The long and outstanding history and heritage of University of Namibia Neudamm Campus is shown in the students and faculty. The start of the university as an agricultural school was in 1982. Since that time, the university faced many issues with drought, but have pushed through and now have about 200 students. Every student is either in their second year or higher. Also, they all live on campus.

One of the major traditions for the Neudamm Campus is to climb to the top of the mountain that divides “Old Neudamm” from the new Neudamm Campus. When they reach the top, students get to add their name to a book. The book has names dating back to the 70s and 80s. To have your name in the book is seen as an achievement. The book is a symbol of how the times have changed and how many students now come to the University of Namibia Neudamm Campus for agriculture.

The University of Namibia Neudamm Campus keeps it heritage by being proud of their roots. The campus is still laid out to what it was like during the time of apartheid. During the apartheid, there was segregation of the country. Now the people get decide which side they want to live on. The heritage of the University of Namibia Neudamm Campus is kept alive through the German Government’s donations back to the university, such as their library. Another way is the tradition of climbing the mountain to add your name into the book. Keeping the tradition for so many years shows how the heritage of the university has grown, but also stayed the same.

The culture of the Neudamm Campus is very friendly and welcoming, something I have found in many Namibians. The heritage that each individual student brings to the campus is something that is shown in how the students interact with campus life.

The importance of sustaining cultural heritage is to show how it has changed, but how it also keeps its roots. Cultural heritage is embodied by who or how such traditions and values are established. It influences decision making skills by those sharing their culture. The people are also those who have to work at sustaining their heritage, just as the students and faculty at the University of Namibia Neudamm Campus have done for decades.