Whispers of Grass and Gratitude: Ongava’s Gift to the Hai//om Etosha San

The bushveld is a place of resilience, where life endures through cycles of abundance and adversity. This year, the fires swept across the land with a ferocity that left little behind but ash and silence. For the farmers from the Hai//om Etosha San Community, whose cattle and livelihoods depend on the grasslands bordering Etosha, the loss was profound.

In response, Ongava donated two truck and trailer loads of grass, more than 80 large bales, to the farmers. A simple gesture rooted in solidarity. As the bales were unloaded, hands met in gratitude, and the air filled with the soft murmur of hope returning.

Yet this gesture is more than a donation. It reflects a deeper shift in conservation, a moveaway from exclusion and towards participation. For decades, the protection of rhinos and other wildlife was often framed as a battle, with fences to divide and patrols to defend and keep people out. Today, the conversation is evolving. Conservation is no longer just about saving animals, it is about aligning and ensuring that people and wildlife flourish side by side.

This vision is echoed in the recent report African and Asian Rhinoceroses – Status, Conservation and Trade, produced by experts from the IUCN Species Survival Commission’s African Rhino Specialist Group, Asian Rhino Specialist Group and TRAFFIC, was commissioned by the Secretariat of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), ahead of CITES COP20 in November. Its findings underscore a simple truth: the future of rhinos rests in the hands of local communities like the Hai//om Etosha San.

When local people are included through meaningful employment, eco-tourism, co-managed protected areas, and conservation-linked businesses everyone stands to gain. Studies show that inclusive governance and economic equity are not just ideals, they are the foundations of lasting conservation.

Ongava’s grass donation is a small chapter in this larger narrative. It is a reminder that the health of the land, the prosperity of its people, and the survival of its wildlife are intertwined. As the hungry livestock find nourishment in the hay, the veld whispers its lesson: true conservation is participatory, generous, and just.

From the ashes of loss rises hope, and with it the promise of a deep partnership where both people and rhinos can thrive.