Abstract  

Already early into the colonization of German South West Africa, today’s Namibia, German
colonial policy emphasized building a livestock economy. Given the vast rangeland expanses,
colonialists sought to improve local cattle production systems and develop an export-oriented
livestock sector to compete with other livestock economies, such as Argentina. As large
companies and land societies failed to achieve significant progress in this direction, individual
settlers were promoted as the colony’s future prospects. Consequently, after the genocidal
Herero and Nama War (1904–1908) and the discovery of diamonds, German settlement
activities increased noticeably, and many farmers acquired land from the colonial government
that was previously inhabited by the Herero and was renowned for its livestock potential.
Among the settlers were graduates of the German Colonial School in Witzenhausen, Germany,
which sought to train young Germans to become successful farmers or farm managers in the
colonies. German South West Africa became their top destination with 161 graduates
immigrating between 1900 and 1944.
In this paper, we analyze letters and articles written by or about these. Most were published in
the school’s house journal “Kulturpionier” or in agricultural journals. We examine strategies of
farm establishment and cattle breeding and, to which degree commodification of livestock was
pursued on these farms. In addition, we compare these settler farms with capital-intensive
large-scale farm businesses such as the Liebig Company.
The analysis shows that the graduates struggled with both environmental and economic
production conditions. Granting adequate water, feed, and veterinary health care was a
challenge, as was their financial situation given high investment costs, and limited inland market
or export opportunities.
The sources provide insights into the experiences of trained colonial actors. They reflect a
contemporary debate and the different approaches of companies and settlers to turn rangeland
vegetation into cattle, commodities, and ultimately money.

Bio 

The project “(Post-)Colonial Livestock Breeding in Namibia: Historical, Social-Ecological, and
Genetic Transformations” is an interdisciplinary research collaboration funded by the
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG). The team brings together researchers from
social ecology, history, and animal genetics to examine how colonial and post-colonial
interventions have shaped livestock, rangelands, and pastoral and commercial production
systems in Namibia. The following project members contributed to the manuscript:
Wilhelmina Nuule obtained a Master of Arts in Geography and Environmental Studies from
the University of Namibia and is currently conducting her PhD at DITSL. Lea Ludwig studies
Organic Agriculture at the University of Kassel, Germany, and writes her MSc thesis at
DITSL/University of Kassel. Dennis Yazici is a PhD candidate in history at the University of Passau. 

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