A pristine southern Kalahari wilderness area with dunes averaging 35m in height - breathtaking scenery you'll never forget. The municipal area of Mier includes the communities of Rietfontein, Philandersbron, Loubos, Klein Mier, Groot Mier, Welkom, Askham and Noenieput.
This is the land of one of the world's ancient tribes, the !Khomani San. They produce and sell authentic curios like bow and arrows, beads made out of the ostrich egg shells and animal skin bags. The Askham community developed around the school which was built in 1931, and the Dutch Reformed Church that serves the whole Kalahari.
The Scottish land surveyor, Rodger Jackson, gave Askham its name when he surveyed farms in the Kuruman river in 1919. Some say that Jackson named Askham after a town on the Irish coast, others say he took the name from a farmer's words: "Ask him", or from the message he sent to request ingredients for his breakfast: "Ask ham"!
Agricultural activities range from intensive crop production and mixed farming in winter rainfall and high summer rainfall areas to cattle ranching in the bushveld and sheep farming in the arid regions. Maize is most widely grown, followed by wheat, oats, ...
