NADEET RECONNECTS PEOPLE WITH NATURE

MUSCAT, SEPT 20
A story of hope and practical solutions is emerging from the Namib Desert, where the Namib Desert Environmental Education Trust (NaDEET), winner of the Unesco Sultan Qaboos Prize for Environment 2024, is helping people reconnect with nature and learn sustainable ways of living.
NaDEET was established 23 years ago with an environmental education centre in the Namib Desert. Registered with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the centre is located next to the Namib Sand Sea World Heritage Site.
“It gives a unique opportunity for people to not just learn about nature, but to be in nature. I think this is why NaDEET is fundamentally successful with our programmes,” said Victoria Keding, Executive Director and Co-founder of NaDEET.
“The centre is based on the principle of ‘We practise what we teach’. When I first started teaching environmental education 25 years ago, I realised it is not just about what we teach, but how we teach. It is one thing to tell somebody to do something, and another to do it yourself and have others do it with you. NaDEET is not a model; it is a practising, working centre,” she said.
Located about 150 km from the nearest local community, the centre requires some schools to travel for up to eight hours to participate in its programmes.
Participants stay at the residential centre from Monday to Friday, with no access to smartphones or the Internet. Keding said the arrangement gives them an opportunity to reconnect with one another, themselves and their natural surroundings.
All participants are involved in preparing food. The centre uses solar cookers and solar ovens, while fuel-efficient stoves powered by recycled fireballs — an initiative that upcycles waste — are used when there is insufficient sunlight.
“We are not just using fewer resources; we are also counting the resources that are being used so we can reflect on it,” Keding said.
The centre can accommodate around 40 to 50 participants while meeting their essential needs with about 2,500 litres of water for the entire group.
Keding stressed that sustainable living should not be viewed as a sacrifice.
“Because if sustainability is about sacrificing, nobody will do it. It is about becoming aware and changing unnecessary waste. We are surrounded by unnecessary waste,” she said.
The programmes are closely linked to the natural environment, with participants spending time among the sand dunes observing animals and plants that have adapted to extreme heat and temperatures.
NaDEET’s programmes are not limited to schoolchildren. The centre also works with college students, teachers and community members.
With support from the Unesco Sultan Qaboos Prize, NaDEET has expanded its work in recent years by establishing a second centre on the coast of Namibia.
Keding said the expansion was particularly important as Namibia, like many countries around the world, is becoming increasingly urbanised.
“As people move towards urban areas, they become even more disconnected from the natural environment,” she said.
The second centre aims to reconnect people with biodiversity, which Keding described as a core component in addressing climate change and building sustainable cities.
NaDEET has also launched a Teacher Professional Development Programme and is currently running its third cohort of teachers.
“This is the key for us to be able to multiply our actions across the country as quickly as possible, because NGOs cannot do it alone, just as governments alone cannot do it alone,” Keding said.
She said NaDEET plays a strong role in supporting governments and teachers in implementing education for sustainable development through school curricula and environmental clubs.