WADADEE EXPERIENCE
The WADADEE Experience offers an authentic experience in the beautifully preserved Namibia. Wadadee is situated in Windhoek, where the WADADEE House operates. The WADADEE House is located in the historical location of Katutura.
The company consists of three components: WADADEE African Safaris, WADADEE House and WADADEEcares.
WADADEE House is ‘a home away from home’ offering accommodation for up to 34 guests with various boarding options available as guests have an authentic African experience, while safe and well-cared. WADADEE African Safaris promotes travel tourism by promoting meaningful tourism activities that enhance social and cultural capital of local communities with specialized packages available for guests on request. WADADEE cares is the charity branch of the Wadadee family and extends our vision to contribute to the development of Namibia by implementing care based community development projects.
OUR IMPACT
WHO WE ARE
The name WADADEE is inspired by the original word Hoatadi, a word in the Khoe-khoe Gowab meaning “it is everybody’s.” WADADEE is developed on the philosophy of sharing and making everyone feel welcome. The Team of WADADEE is dedicated and creative with young professionals from Namibia
and Europe with over a decade of experience traveling in and around Namibia and the South African region.
Our mission is to bring affordable, community based accommodation and tourism to Namibia and to bring about social and economical development into the community of Katutura.
WHAT WE DO
The success of these endeavors opened a new dimension of thinking and doing at Wadadee. Currently, we accommodate more than 25 students from all over the world at Wadadee house. Most of them are volunteers supporting different kind of welfare projects in Katutura. Our team of Wadadee cares organizes a volunteer program for everyone who would like to help the less fortunate people. The whole stay in Namibia can be planned and organized individually so that our guests have enough time to experience the country in many exciting tours throughout Southern Africa with Wadadee African Safaris. Wadadee is a collective experience that remains on your mind forever.
OUR JOURNEY
WADADEE’s journey started off in Rykmansdorp, Katutura as a family home. The Wadadee House was turned into a home for foreign guests, accommodating volunteers from all over the world in Windhoek. After witnessing the visitors need to explore Namibia we started offering camping safaris to the main attractions Namibia has to offer. These trips created a constant hunger for more travel, which encouraged numerous trips through other countries; Botswana, Zimbabwe and Zambia.These efforts led to the establishment of Wadadee African Safaris, that takes you on a journey through nature’s sensations. Over the past few years, we have had so many wonderful volunteers coming to WADADEE with the mission of helping people in Katutura in many sustainable ways.
Experiencing their passion about changing the face of our home for the better and having an impact on people’s lives, made us establish WADADEE cares, our NGO implementing welfare projects in Katutura.
OUR IMPACT
ABOUT KATUTURA
Katutura is a neighborhood in Windhoek that has great historical significance for many Namibians. With a wide socio-economic diversity, Katutura offers some of the best parts of being Namibian and living in Windhoek. We see being located in Katutura as a way of building cultural sensitivity for our guests by creating an open and informative experience.
The history of Katutura is negatively scarred by the systematic racialism created by the apartheid system that created barriers between different racial groups. Through WADADEE we contribute to the direct and indirect economic development of the community where we grew up and operate.
FACE OF CHANGE
Our approach to community development is very unique; by bringing tourists to Katutura we change pre-existing misconceptions about the former township. You will find once you are in Katutura, a number of the negative stereotypes you might have heard prior to arrival were in fact incorrect, and that reality is the beautiful opposite. As the WADADEE family we speak to people unfamiliar with Katutura, who live in other parts of Windhoek to encourage them to become ambassadors of Katutura to help breakdown the incorrect perceptions associated with safety, friendliness and identity.
EMPLOYMENT
Currently WADADEE employs nine people, almost all of them from Katutura, these people all have families that they support and are reliant on their income generated through working at WADADEE. All of our workers earn more than the minimum Namibian wage, and each of them are an integral part of WADADEE. The long term goal is to make WADADEE a focal point of tourism in Katutura, attracting even larger numbers of tourists, which should encourage the growth of secondary businesses that complement the tourist industry.
SUSTAINABLE TOURISM
OUR AIM
Our aim is to develop and encourage a tourism market in Katutura that attracts visitors, which will result in job creation to alleviate unemployment and significantly improve the standard of living of our fellow citizens. Wadadee pursues a vision of sustainability that not only involves working towards growth in the area, but also consultation with community partners and neighbors to get their input on our impending growth.
PRESERVATION
Wadadee only travels to national parks that aim towards conservation and preservation of some of the most unique ecosystems in the world. Moreover, by only going to these parks, we make sure that our investment only goes towards agencies designed to preserve the national parks for the next generation. While on tour in a country like Namibia, with existing resource shortages, we have chosen to only cook with natural gas.
EDUCATION
As many people from Katutura never experienced a proper education, it is nearly impossible for them to find a job and to care for their families. For this reason, we pay special attention to teaching English to all children in all our projects and to assists adults in getting access to the educational system. Education is the key to find the way out of unemployment, sickness and poverty.
