Traditional Ju/'hoan education constitutes one of humanity's oldest field-tested curricula. The values underlying their democratic culture are communicated and practiced from early childhood and form the basis of Ju/'hoan education. Ju/hoan decision-making processes epitomize direct democracy one person, one vote and lead to community consensus in decision-making. Mastering these complex social skills requires that child autonomy be an essential daily piece of Ju/'hoan childrearing and education. The importance of this approach in Ju/ hoan culture cannot be over-emphasized. Although a problematic concept to Western educators, who are used to authoritarian management styles, it makes logical sense: to be a thriving democracy, a society must provide the autonomy for children to make decisions and experience the consequences. In essence, democracy requires embedding a rich problem-solving interactive approach into teaching and learning. whether in the bush or the enclosed space of a modern school classroom. With these Ju/'hoan values and practices in mind, the Nyae Nyae Village Schools Project (VSP) began in 1990 under a small thorn tree in /Aotcha, Namibia. The initial goal was to introduce Ju/'hoan children, in their mother tongue, to literacy, numeracy, and the lesson-oriented structure of a public school day, so they would be prepared to succeed in the government schools in Tsumkwe and elsewhere. However, this seemingly straightforward goal belied complicated cultural processes taking place. This chapter explores considerations involved with the transition of Ju/'hoan village children to a formal public education system and describes how the Village School educational philosophy developed to address these considerations and to support five fully functioning Village Schools with Jul'hoan teachers teaching in Ju/'hoansi. Also addressed in this chapter are the multiple challenges still faced by the VSP and Ju/'hoan children and teachers every day.