Out of Eden

Out of Eden offers a sobering, sometimes hilarious and often touching portrait of the Kalahari people, the Khoi San.

Set against the visually dramatic scenery of the red sand dunes, a story unfolds of how the Khoisan try to adapt themselves and their traditional culture to 21^stcentury societal norm and values.  Helped by human rights lawyer Roger Chennels, the Khoisan developed a strategy to reclaim their land, and after lengthy negotiations in 1999 they were compensated and allotted 40,000 hectares of land south of the Kalahari National Park. The Khoisan who were originally hunter-gatherers have never been landowners, now they had to learn to manage 6 farms. To this end, they established an association – a local authority to keep the farms running. This did not come about without a struggle. The Khoisan and the local coloured people do not always get along very well. The locals think the Khoisan introduced drugs and liquor,  into the community. According to Chennels the Khoisan are by no means materialistic and are happy with what they have. “Others want gold or silver, but I want to live”, the Khoisan grandmother says.

Documentary, 2001, 16 mm film, 72.37 minutes, English sub-titles