Vaalgras () is a village in

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

ǁKaras Region The ǁKharas Region (pronounced , with a lateral click, former name Karas Region, without the click) is the southernmost, largest, and least densely populated of the 14 regions of Namibia; its capital is Keetmanshoop. The name assigned to the r ...

. Located northeast of

Keetmanshoop Keetmanshoop is a town in the ǁKaras Region of southern Namibia. It is named after , a German Empire, German industrialist and benefactor of the city. Keetmanshoop had a population of 27,862 people in 2023. History Before the colonial era, ...

, the village is also home of the ''Vaalgras Traditional Authority''. It is home to a community of the

Oorlam people The Oorlam or Orlam people (also known as Orlaam, Oorlammers, Oerlams, or Orlamse Hottentots) are a subtribe of the Nama people, largely assimilated after their migration from the Cape Colony (today, part of South Africa) to Namaqualand and D ...

, a group descends from the

OvaHerero The Herero () are a Bantu ethnic group inhabiting parts of Southern Africa. 178,987 Namibians identified as Ovaherero in the 2023 census. They speak Otjiherero, a Bantu language. Though the Herero primarily reside in Namibia, there are also sig ...

, Nama and other groups.Vaalgras community patches up wounds
''The Namibian'', 22 March 2006

Notable residents

Emil Appolus Emil Appolus (10 March 1935, in Vaalgras, ǁKaras Region - 28 May 2005, in Keetmanshoop) was a Namibian politician and businessperson. Living in Cape Town, Appolus was part of early discussions on Namibian independence. In 1957, Appolus becam ...

Eric Biwa Eric Biwa (born 8 May 1953 in Vaalgras, ǁKaras Region) is a former Namibian politician with the Patriotic Unity Movement (PUM), a party which was a member of the United Democratic Front (UDF). Pre-independence A former combatant in the Namibi ...

Willem Konjore Reverend Willem Konjore (30 July 1945—11 June 2021) was a Namibian politician. He was a member and a deputy speaker of the National Assembly of Namibia, and served in cabinet from 2005 to 2010. Early life and education Konjore was born on 3 ...

(1945–2021), government minister

References

Populated places in the ǁKaras Region Oorlam people {{Namibia-geo-stub