Karasburg

Karasburg is city in the Karas Region of southern Namibia and the district capital of the Karasburg electoral constituency. It lies at the heart of the southern Namibian sheep farming industry.

There are three main routes that lead into Karasburg. From Grünau in the west, Onseepkans in the south and the B3 main road that leads to the South African border in the east. The town lies 710-kilometre (440 mi) south of Windhoek, 862-kilometre (536 mi) north of Cape Town and 110km West of the Ariamsvlei border post. Karasburg is the only relatively large town south of Keetmanshoop in Namibia.

Karasburg's main industry is sheep farming, but it is also an important truck stop for transport vehicles streaming into Namibia from the South African border. The town supports several massive farms in the area. The town also has its own airport : (IATA:KAS) which is used mainly for light aircraft or as an emergency landing strip for larger planes. Karasburg has the busiest train station in Southern Namibia and is also the last significant stop before Upington. Bondels Dam, built in 1959, lies 7-kilometre (4.3 mi) west of the town.

Karasburg is scheduled to be downgraded to "town" status before November 2010.

The german association “Fahrräder für Afrika e.V.” (bicycles for africa) is working together with the Catholic Aids Action (CAA) and the Bicycling Empowerment Network (BEN) Namibia to build a “Bicycle Empowerment Centre” in Karasburg. Local people infected with the HI-virus will be trained to repair and build bikes and also receive the know-how to run the work-shop on their own. Bicycles will be sold at low prices to the inhabitans of the region, allowing easy travel and transportation, while the income from the work-shops is also used to finance local aid projects. The project is supported by governmental agencies in Germany and Namibia