In the reality television programme ‘Groeten uit de Rimboe’ (‘Greetings from the Bush’) a Dutch family was dropped in Namibia’s Kunene region to live with a Himba tribe for two weeks. Afterwards the Himba were taken to the Netherlands. Was it unbiased cultural comic relief or cultural exploitation?

Having seen the outrage about the programme in Holland, I was keen to investigate the story from inside Namibia. I wrote this report for The Big Issue Namibia during my time as a staff reporter for the magazine in 2006.

The story in The Big Issue Namibia, May 2006.

The story in The Big Issue Namibia, May 2006.

Himba BI Namibia