Blouwes Traditional Authority Councillor Annamarie Swartbooi told nbc News at Itsawisis that despite the numerous challenges that residents of the tiny settlement faced in 2022, she is optimistic that the year 2023 will bring prosperity.

Even more exciting, he says, are the good rains expected in the first weeks of next month.

Itsawisis is situated about 40 kilometers north of Keetmanshoop on the B1 road and is home to about 80 residents, mostly subsistence farmers.

They say the year 2022 came with many challenges, including below-predicted rainfall, which resulted in the deaths of many animals from starvation.

Most of the settlement's residents are also unemployed and depend on government grants.

"Most people are unemployed here, our men are struggling to find employment, and this makes it very difficult to even send our children to school. The year 2022 has been very hard on us, but we hope that 2023 will bring better relief for our people and community."

Despite these challenges, the traditional authority and community members continue to make use of the land by planting trees for shade and food.

"We don't have enough water for household consumption, to give to animals, or to irrigate our gardens, but we have no choice but to use the little water for our gardening project as this is the only way we can feed ourselves. We hope to continue with this in the new year."

Jacob Frederick, who came to the tiny settlement in search of a better life, says being unemployed and not being able to support his family put so much strain on him that there have been times he considered giving up.

But he kept hope in the land granted to him by the traditional authority and has been working hard in his garden to feed his family, also sharing their surplus with fellow residents.

"When I came to this settlement, I had so many things that I wanted to do, but the water shortage immediately became a challenge. I hope that this year will bring rain so that all my efforts from last year are not in vain."

The tiny settlement of Itsawisis has over the years been hard hit by natural disasters, including drought, heavy winds, and lightning that have killed many animals.

But these residents who settled along the B1 road remain resilient.