The town and the region of Rehoboth (Cornelia Limpricht):
The core area of the Rehoboth Basters, which today comprises partially the Hardap and the Khomas Region is scenically well endowed and geologically marked by three adjacent zones, the Khomas Hochland Plateau, the Rehoboth Plateau and the Kalahari Sandveld. In addition three vegetation zones are to be found: the Highland Shrubland (a savanna dominated by shrubs and low trees), the Dwarf Shrub Savanna and the Southern Kalahari (characterised by grasslands with scattered trees). The farms of the Rehoboth Basters are located in a semi-arid region. The long-term mean annual rainfall is about 250 mm. Apart from a few exceptions there is no year-round open water in the region. The land has been, and still is only used for animal husbandry, the prime herd animals being cattle, sheep and goats.The town of Rehoboth is situated close to the boundary of the Hardap and the Khomas Region, a recently drawn boundary dissecting the area of farms, the former Rehoboth Gebiet, which had been reserved exclusively for Baster owners until the Independence of Namibia in 1990. The Oanob Dam, a smaller counterpart of the Hardap Dam, is situated on the outskirts of the town of Rehoboth offering an important resource for tourism.
Farm size: 4093 ha
Camps: 7
Livestock: 196 cattle (+150 calves), 600 sheep, 70 goats (2004)
Management: average stocking rate 10-12 ha/LSU. Small stock forages with a herdsman. Cattle is divided in 2 - 4 herds. During rainy season cattle, sheep and goats get shifted when grass gets grazed down to about 15 cm (when growing) or 7 cm in the dry season. Try to alternate from year to year the paddocks rested for most of rainy season.
|