A New Chapter: The Desert Academy Maltahöhe
Desert Academy Maltahöhe is a Vocational Training Centre driven by the Wolwedans Foundation with the generous support by a growing number of private and institutional donors. The Academy is embedded within the ‘RuralRevive | Building a Desert Based Economy’ Initiative. Education, from early childhood development to tertiary level – which naturally includes Vocational Training – forms the cornerstone of the RuralRevive vision, and the foundation of future economic growth. Being in this for the long run, people development is driving positive change and shaping a new generation of skilled, confident, happy and value‑driven young Namibians. Offering national trade qualifications in Hospitality, Horticulture and soon also Facility Maintenance, our programme has a strong practical focus with sustainability at its core; enriched with comprehensive life skills training and rooted in the ethics of our moral Compass; Honest | Creative | Positive | Fair.
Our ‘living classroom’ concept ensures that graduates become ‘fit’ for both work and life. As such, our Desert Academy offers much more than vocational training. We curate a fulfilling learning approach that inspires dignity, aims for employability and creates realistic hope for a better future and healthier livelihoods. Legacy of Learning and EnduranceThe Wolwedans Foundation has long believed that true sustainability starts with people. For over a decade, its Desert Academy has trained hundreds of young Namibians in hospitality, guiding, and land stewardship — equipping them not just with skills, but with values. Through droughts, global pandemic, distance, and limited resources, the Academy endured. It taught not only trades, but resilience — a generation of youth who carry both craftsmanship and character into Namibia’s growing desert economy.Today, this legacy continues in Maltahöhe, where the Desert Academy expands its impact under the umbrella of the Rural Revive Initiative: Building a Desert-Based Economy.
A NEW Desert Campus
What began years ago as the Wolwedans Desert Academy (est. 2010) — a small but visionary training ground nestled in the NamibRand Nature Reserve at the Wolwedans Collection of camps and Lodges (est. 1995)— has evolved into Desert Academy Maltahöhe, a bold new chapter in Namibia’s story of education, sustainability, and rural regeneration. The Academy is more than a school; it’s a movement. Rooted deeply in the bedrock of Maltahöhe, it stands as a living symbol of renewal — proof that education, when grounded in community and purpose, can transform lives and landscapes alike. After 15 years of training experience acquired at Wolwedans Desert Academy – based in the NamibRand Nature Reserve – a new campus is in the making now, Desert Academy Maltahöhe. The aim being to increase trainee capacity by making facilities accessible. We are therefore compelled to broaden the scope of vocational training courses and training environments we prepare to offer.
