Okupita Arts & Crafts

Morris Baba found hope in handicraft. It started as a hobby first and grew into something more. When he came to Namibia, he started on the street and made wire and beaded animals and art pieces. After really battling, he was offered a spot at the Craft Centre. Now he has improved the quality of this products and is able to support his family in Namibian and Zimbabwe from sales at the Craft Centre. His skill is self-taught. ‘When I was young, I was inspired by a man who used to do carvings. I started to make some bicycles and then I went on to make elephants and geckos.’ Morris produces a variety of recycled animals, toys, decorations, large welded metal animals and many more. One of the most popular animals, the warthog, has been bought by many visitors and shipped to Europe and Americas. Morris makes sure that he has a great variety of products, and guarantees that there is something for everyone.

Johanna Shilongo produces all the clothing sold at her stall. The distinctive striped material used for the traditional dresses worn by Namibia’s Owambo women, represent the three different tribes – the Kwanyama, Ndonga and Ngandjera. Traditional the pink colour was obtained by grinding stone, and the fabric is known as Ondelela. Johanna also buys traditional Owambo baskets and wooden utensils and animals from the north of Namibia. Anyone desiring to have a taste of Owambo customs and tradition in their homes, must visit Ondjaba stall.

The name ‘Limbandungila’ means ‘walk slowly’ in Oshiwambo, an indigenous language of northern Namibia and owner, Ottilie Nghiitwikwa, is a connoisseur of hand-carved wooden crafts from north and north-eastern Namibia. Limbandungila was established in 1997 and stocks beautifully hand-carved wooden masks, paintings in relief, ceremonial masks and wildlife figurines, including traditional Namibian items such as bowls, cups and woven harvest baskets, predominantly from cultural groups in northern Namibia, selected with great care for her customers by Nghiitwikwa. Her enterprise and initiative supports several rural producers and craftsmen, necessitating Ottilie Nghiitwikwa travel regularly to northern Namibia, scouting for new hand-carved wooden items. Her winning selections and choices of wooden craft has made Limbandungila an enduring supplier of quality products, known for its traditional, authentic wooden artefacts of Namibian origin.

Glenda Meinert produces original wildlife and figurative art on high-quality, hand-selected leather. Every piece is different and due to the nature of leather, requires careful planning in composition, layout, design and selection. She draws inspiration from African, Namibian wildlife and landscapes. Glenda started her working career as a designer and pattern-maker at Nakara, Namibia’s largest tannery and producer of leather products, where she designed national costumes for Miss Namibia. In her spare time, she experimented with leather offcuts, produced greeting cards and small landscapes which were presented to friends. Encouraging positive responses induced Glenda to experiment with leather on larger landscapes and finally led to the creation of wildlife art. Her first exhibition in 1998 was a great success.