The Shiyuma Shiwa Sharing Skills Pottery Art Project started with its one week workshop where 20 unemployed youths and village women will be trained and their skills sharpened in the art of pottery.
The art training project, implemented by Mr Kleopas Nghikefelwa, a Namibia museum and heritage professional, and Ms Jakobina Nangula, the founder of Oshana Excellent Services, based in Uukwiyu Uushona Constituency, at Iindjinda village, is the first of its kind in recent years.
The workshop was originally initiated by Nghikefelwa, who was awarded a grant of N$50,000 by the National Art Council of Namibia in February 2025. The training project is running from 16 to 22 March 2025 at Ongula Village Homestead Lodge.
“One of the major aims of this art training is to empower the youth with traditional skills of arts and crafts, such as basketry, pottery and others,” Mr Nghikefelwa said.
“The project also aims at promoting gender equality through arts and culture development in rural areas, where the majority of our unemployed youth live without skills.
“This art training is benefiting about 10 unemployed youths, who were sourced by Ms Jakobina Nangula, owner of Oshana Excellent Services, which has been dedicated to promoting pottery arts skills training development in the regions of Ohangwena, Oshana and Oshikoto in the past few years.”
This week Shiyuma Shiwa Sharing Skills Pottery Art Workshop is also benefiting 10 women who are at the workshop to share with the youth their traditional skills of making pottery.
“They are also learning new and modern skills,” Nghikefelwa stated. “Generally, at the end of this workshop, all the 20 participants will have gained new and extra skills, which they may need to make good quality craft products for selling and earn income to support themselves and their families.
“Lastly, let me point out that this full week workshop, was partially sponsored by Ongula Homestead Lodge, which sponsored the workshop with accommodation facilities and venue for the workshop.
“In Ongula Homestead Lodge, there is a pottery house which provides opportunity to local women who showcase their traditional skills to visitors and make pottery products for selling and earn an income to alleviate poverty in their community.”
So far the workshop has created a platform for both participants not only to learn but also to share skills and experience, in how to produce better quality products such as ceramic cups, plates, salad bowls and others by using processed clay imported from South Africa, and market them at profitable prices.
According to Nghikefelwa, pottery is the oldest trade in Africa as for centuries people of Africa have traded with pottery products.
“Therefore it should be preserved from one generation to another. Traditionally, often it was more commonly practised by women, who only make products used in everyday life of a traditional homestead.
“But today as we live in the universal and democratic world of gender equality, ‘every person has a right to practice any profession or career of his or her own choice’.
“Therefore in this project, four young men have been participating since last Monday and they have been enjoying it, using different modern processed clays to produce any craft products of their choice. In other words, in this workshop participants are not limited to produce domestic household products.”
Nghikefelwa expressed gratitude to the National Arts Council of Namibia for sponsorship the workshop and Ongula Homestead Lodge for their support.
“Allow me also to appreciate the initiative of our new president elect, Hon. Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, who often publicly announced that she is supporting Namibia’a creative industry. I think this is a good idea too because this industry has been neglected for too long in Namibia.
“In society, people who make arts or craft were regarded as people of less value in Namibian society; this discouraged many parents and families, so that they would rather not have their children to study arts or receive training in crafts.
“For example, today, most arts and crafts products you find at Namibia’s airports and arts crafts centres, were made in neighbouring countries. In this way we are just creating jobs for them, while the majority of our unskilled but talented youth are jobless.
“I would like to appeal to Namibia’s private and public organisations to come forward and give full support to the following organisations: National Arts Council of Namibia, National Arts Gallery, and others who are committed to promoting arts development in Namibia’s rural areas.
In the main photo: From left is Nangula Kalimbo (Ongula village, Ohangwena), Jonatan Haiyambo (Eenhana, Ohangwena), Hendrina Mbidi (Okauva-Okatope, Ohangwena), Martha Nakanyala (Ongula, Ohangwena), Thomas Martin (Uukwiyu Uushona, Oshana), Kleopas Erickson (Uukwiyu Uushona, Oshana), George Johannes (Uukwiyu Uushona, Oshana), Kleopas Nghikefelwa (Oniipa, Oshikoto), Ndamona Kornelius (Ondobe, Ohangwena), Johanna Shipushu (Olukonda, Oshikoto), and Salmi Nakatana (Uukwiyu Uushona, Oshana). [Photo by Dave Bushman]
