economy Archives

March 5, 2024

Gardens in the desert

On the edge of the Namib Desert, at the gateway to Sossusvlei, lies the village of Maltahöhe. Founded in 1899 and once a hub for tourism, Maltahöhe has been on a steady decline for a number of decades. As it became more dilapidated, this small southern community saw an exodus of businesspeople and a massive spike in unemployment. What had been a welcome stopover was now a place that visitors would rather pass through in a hurry. But this was in the past, and today Maltahöhe is on track to become a thriving desert-based economy thanks to an exciting community revitalisation project called RuralRevive.

November 11, 2025

Hope as a verb

It is easy to despair. We are all aware of the state of the world. In the context of tourism, there is much to be said about luxuries that the planet simply cannot afford; about the way things have always been done. And yet, at the edge of the world, in the remotest of untouched wilderness and the small, forgotten town nearest to it, an environmental and economic blood transfusion is happening in real time. What I witnessed did nothing less than transform me. This was hope as a verb.