Euro-African Life in Namibia

In 2011, the Fine Ounce Goldsmiths’ Collective was established in Cape Town, South Africa, originating from the ambition to build an ornate bridge between the shimmering, ethereal realms of art and the sobering, cold gleam of noble metals and precious stones essential to the process of jewelry-making.  'Jewelry is jewelry and art is art; never the twain shall meet.' Members of the Fine Ounce Goldsmiths' Collective grappled endlessly with this statement before their collective decision to embark on an arduous journey to bring to lovers and collectors of jewelry in southern Africa, unique, handmade pieces strongly influenced by art and nature.  (Photo: Ring by Adi Cloete ) Eight goldsmiths from southern Africa form the core of the collective, including Namibia’s very own, Frieda Lühl . The other goldsmiths are: ·         1.  Jubi (Adeline Joubert) – a red-haired goldsmith with a sense of humour, specialising in small-scale scul...

On the 5th of June 2014, Namibia Breweries Limited (NBL), a subsidiary of the Ohlthaver & List (O&L) Group of Companies, introduced the newest addition to the NBL family, the Camelthorn Weizen , Namibia’s first, locally brewed, premium weissbeer, during a special event at the annual Namibian Tourism Expo. (Photo: The NBL team with the Camelthorn Weizen at the Namibia Tourism Expo) Thomas Hochreiter of NBL says: “We are very pleased to present our customers and consumers with Camelthorn Weizen, a perfect addition to the NBL stable of quality beer brands. This unique, truly African, Bavarian Style wheat beer compliments the other beers in the NBL portfolio and provides the discerning beer drinker with yet another option of quality brewed Namibian beer.  While Camelthorn Weizen is also brewed according to the brewing standards of the Reinheitsgebot, it differs from the current NBL beers in that it is not a lager beer, but contains wheat malt. Camelthorn Weizen ...

“The Bank of Namibia (BoN) has announced an increase in the repo rate by 0,25% to 5,75% on the back of an upward trend in inflation. “ As a result of increasing interest rates debt is becoming more expensive,” says Daniel Motinga , Head: Research at First National Bank of Namibia. “While the difference may be small at the moment, any additional interest rate increases will start to really hurt people’s pockets. Now is the perfect time to rebalance your debt portfolio by paying extra into your loans.”  (Photo: Daniel Motinga, FNB) Motinga went on to say that for the last five years interest rates had been at an all-time low, meaning that the cost of debt has been reasonably low for this period of time. “But, the interest rate rose by 0.25 percent, and we have now entered an upward rate cycle, which means we could see more interest rate hikes in the future. Borrowers can take steps to protect themselves from rate hikes.” “As interest rates rise, so does the cost of borro...

The 2014 Inline Hockey World Championships will be held at Palais des Sports André Brouat in Toulouse, France, with championship matches scheduled to take place from 29 June to 12 July 2014. Namibia is the only country in Africa to participate in the upcoming world championships. (Photo: Senior Men's Inline Hockey Team, Namibia)  A few days ago, on Saturday, 14 th of June 2014, the Namibia Ice and Inline Hockey Association (NIIHA) announced four teams fit and well prepared to represent the country in France at the Inline Hockey World Championships: a junior men’s team, senior men, junior women and senior women’s team. The Namibian national teams consist of at least two lines four players each and one goalie (goal tender), a minimum of nine players, preferably a minimum of twelve players per team. In accordance with the rules of FIRS (Fédération Internationale de Roller Sports) each national team is limited to a maximum of fourteen inline hockey players. The inline hoc...

Namibia . Is it possible for a nation to be held hostage by its own historical narratives? Is it possible for a young independent country like Namibia to be an active participant in its own hostage drama? Are Namibians captives of their own splintered cultural narratives? It appears the answer to all three questions could be 'yes.' As a new nation (1990) and a unified territory since 1994 (with the incorporation of Walvis Bay), Namibia inherited several historical narratives which have more or less evolved from a violent and not particularly pleasant history (depending on the narrator). For example, take any year in Namibian history prior to independence in 1990, and interestingly, one may find that there are several extant narratives often as many as the cultural groups in the country at that point in time, and that none of these narratives will converge at some point or even appear to vaguely agree. A single historical event in Namibia could be encapsulated by a particular...