The Wolwedans Desert Academy

Investing in the Development of Skills, through Vocational Training, for Talented Young Namibians

The Wolwedans Desert Academy is an accredited vocational training provider, registered with Namibia Training Authority (NTA) and located in the heart of NamibRand Nature Reserve in the Hardap Region. The Desert Academy is a Wolwedans Foundation Community Development Project. During the last twelve years over 300 trainees have graduated through the Wolwedans Foundation in the filed of Tourism & Hospitality.

One of the things we choose to do differently is empower young Namibians through education that goes beyond the textbook into real life experiences. To do this, The Wolwedans Desert Academy was established to educate passionate youth in hospitality and tourism. 

Over time the Wolwedans Foundation has become responsible for educating over 250 young Namibians in hospitality and culinary art - through the Wolwedans Desert Academy in the greater Sossusvlei Namib area. 

The commitment from the Social Security Commission Development Fund (SSC-DF), the NTA helps us to drive our programmes and reach the people who need them the most. The SSC-DF caters for socio-economically disadvantaged Namibians from marginalised communities through training, employment, study loans and bursary schemes. In Namibia, there is an ongoing discussion about efficiency vs. equity in the delivery of services to marginalised populations, i.e. how to ensure quality education services are available in remote areas at a reasonable cost and we are proud of the unique role that the Wolwedans Desert Academy plays in actively tackling this.

Trainees at the Wolwedans Desert Academy have an incredible opportunity to live and work in a foundational environment at the Wolwedans Collection.

What makes the Living Classroom unique is the combination of theory with hands-on, practical training under supervision from industry experienced facilitators. Furthermore, our educational environment is enhanced by the caring environments that we foster on our campuses.

We believe that our approach supports life skills development and creates a true expectation of what the industry will demand from graduates in a realistic way. Between 2019 and 2021, we hope to introduce 3 new qualifications: facility maintenance, organic gardening and upholstery - to our suite of qualifications. These are localised needs, that we hope to address through vocational training.

Even though we receive support from the SSC-DF and the NTA, we contribute significantly to subsidising the costs related to vocational education.

See our costs and budget breakdowns here.