The concept of rural settlement development and improved community living standards is
shrouded in dichotomous phenomena. Today, we live in a world commonly dubbed the “Global
Village”, which term implies the breakdown of cultural and geographical boundaries between peoples.
Normally, development upgrades people’s lifestyle but in tandem eliminates global cultural diversity.
This dichotomy often leads to ecological destabilization with consequent environmental malaise.
This paper attempts to explore and establish a sustainable development model for Namibia rural
settlements based on the principles of respect for culture, and adherence to proven environmental
conservation dogmas. The thesis is that while contemporary human settlement development is
inevitable, sustainable design paradigm can provide the tool to direct the process of rural development
and ensure cultural and environmental integrity. The paper posits that active user community
participation in design is critical for the realization of a sustainable rural settlement development.
The Namibia-German Special Initiative Programme (NGSIP) in rural Namibia, provided ground for
testing the hypothesis. The Hoachanas Multi-Purpose Community Centre (MPCC) design, involved
the Polytechnic of Namibia Architecture students. The NGSIP project experience forms the basis for
this research paper. It was established that sustainable design, informed by cultural and
environmental imperatives, is key to mitigating the apparent impacts of rural development.