Indigenous youth build livelihoods & protect culture
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Louivenzia Komases in Namibia and Mommon Makko in Tanzania led projects that combined economic opportunity with cultural and environmental preservation within their communities.
Komases worked with 20 Nama youth in Namibia, training them in social entrepreneurship and business skills during a week of remembrance for the 1904-1908 Nama and Ovaherero Genocide.
Participants developed business ideas centered around cultural tourism, traditional foods, and crafts, presenting them using a new “Indigenous Knowledge Pitch Deck.” Makko, working in Tanzania, coordinated the “Green Dryland Initiative” with a youth collective, planting 200 native trees to combat desertification and improve grazing land. The project also distributed beehives to a women’s group, training 45 people in beekeeping to create additional income and support pollination.
Both projects established community committees to ensure long-term sustainability, integrating traditional knowledge with modern conservation practices. These initiatives aimed to address historical trauma, economic hardship, and environmental challenges while empowering Indigenous youth to lead change in their communities.
