The !Nara fruit is unique to the Namib Desert and for more than a thousand years the traditional staple food of the Topnaar, descendants of one of the oldest people of Nambia. The Topnaar people belong to the Nama, who for their part belong to the Khoi-Khoi.

Other tribes called the Topnaars "Naranin", referring to their dependency on veldfood, especially the !Nara. But to the Topnaars, this magic plant, is their "many breasted foster mother" and "wet nurse" whom they praise in poems.

It grows wild and stubbornly on the sand dunes giving these desert dwellers a constant and secure food supplement.

Its flesh is eaten raw, the pips are highly nutritious and like their ancestors, they grind the pips into oil to use as a sunscreen. The story looks into the Topnaar's history, their traditional plant the !Nara and their future.

Since their ancestral land was declared The Namib Naukluft Park it’s become illegal for them to generate an income from the natural resources like tourism and mining. With a commercial uranium mine opening in the park in 2007 they are now willing to take this issue to court.

Published - Zuidelijk Afrika - Winter 1999 and Living Africa 1999