Green leaf with icons representing education, sustainability, and community around the text 'Cultur.ed Planet 2025' on a beige background.

Community Ideas. Local Leadership. Lasting Opportunity.

Cultur.ed Planet is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit supporting community-driven initiatives in Tsumkwe, Namibia, in partnership with the Ju/’hoansi San community.

We believe that meaningful change begins with people themselves.

Our projects start with ideas, skills, and aspirations identified by community members. We provide the resources, training, mentoring, and ongoing support needed to turn those ideas into sustainable opportunities—while keeping decision-making and ownership in the hands of the community.

From women-led businesses and youth initiatives to arts, education, and small enterprises, our projects create opportunities for people to develop skills, generate income, express their creativity, and build greater economic independence.

Explore our projects, meet the people behind them, and discover how you can become part of Cultured Planet’s work.

A map of Botswana, showing its neighboring countries Angola, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa. It also includes regional divisions, towns, and borders within Botswana, with an arrow pointing to a specific location.

Our Projects

Five women standing outdoors in a garden, posing for a photo, with trees and landscaping in the background.

Ju’/hoansi Ladies Catering

Group of six young men standing outdoors on a dirt path, holding up drawings of trees, animals, and nature scenes with dry trees and clear sky in the background.

Kalahari Art Group

Group of smiling adults and children in a classroom, holding books and calculators, posing for a photo.

Chief Bobo Training

A group of smiling children of various ages gathered outside near a building with a large archway, some waving and making gestures. The background shows dry land and a few distant trees under a clear blue sky.

Village Schools

A smiling woman standing behind a display of handmade beaded jewelry at a market stall in an outdoor setting with trees in the background.

!amace Arts and Crafts

Line drawing of a hand holding a stick or pen, with a flower in the background.

Community-led economic opportunity and independence

Community-led economic opportunity and independence

A dirt road in a rural area with trees on both sides, leading towards a distant elephant under a cloudy sky.

Ju/’hoansi of Nyae Nyae

The Ju/’hoansi have a rich cultural history and are traditionally known for their hunting and gathering knowledge, intimate understanding of the Kalahari environment, egalitarian social organization, and distinctive language. However, like many Indigenous communities, Ju/’hoansi in Tsumkwe have experienced major social and economic changes, including the loss of access to traditional livelihoods, limited employment opportunities, poverty, and challenges in education and economic development.

Today, many Tsumkwe residents combine elements of traditional knowledge and contemporary livelihoods. Small businesses, crafts, tourism, agriculture, catering, arts, and other income-generating activities can provide important opportunities, particularly for young people and women. Community-led initiatives are especially valuable because they allow Ju/’hoansi themselves to identify priorities and develop projects that reflect local knowledge, aspirations, and circumstances.

Supporting Ju/’hoansi youth and community members to develop their own businesses and projects can contribute to greater economic independence while strengthening community ownership and participation.

Make an impact, show your support

Simple illustration of two leaves, one overlapping the other, in a minimalistic style.
Three individuals walk through a dry, grassy landscape with scattered trees and bushes. They are dressed in traditional or tribal attire, with minimal clothing and decorative accessories, and their hair is styled distinctive to their culture.

100% of your donations
go directly to supporting communities.

Donate