Arts and Crafts in Namibia

Omba Arts Trust

Omba Arts’ roots go back to the early 1990´s, when founding director, Karin le Roux started researching and working formally in the craft sector with a large NGO. This led to the idea of using the traditional knowledge and techniques of rural artisans all over Namibia as inspiration to develop contemporary artworks and crafts for new markets. Omba Arts formed a trust in 2004 to develop this idea into a fair-trade social enterprise and now provides support to over 400 artisans from nine different regions all over Namibia. Omba Arts is a not-for-profit social enterprise that develops and markets some of Namibia’s most iconic handicrafts as well as San contemporary art. We support the sustainable livelihoods and resilience of disadvantaged artisan communities. The majority of Omba artisans are women, and many are single heads of households. Omba’s goals are to produce and market a selection of quality and unique Namibian products, rooted in local culture with a contemporary twist. Omba celebrates the cultural diversity of Namibia. All our products reflect traditional skills and ancient techniques merged with contemporary design suited to different markets. Trust and respect are important aspects of our relationship and where necessary we provide advances for purchases and rewards for excellence.

201 to 500 staff