Outjo, Namibia
June 10, 2024
I had wanted to visit the Ovahimba living museum near Opuwo but it was too far and I hadn’t the time. But as it happens by sheer luck, I visited a small village near Outjo. As often happens, it was entirely by chance and all the better for it.
I had met a Himba woman at Outjo. Of all the ones selling their jewelry, she seemed more open to chatting and we spent some time looking at her handmade jewelry. Making jewelry from natural materials is a hobby of mine and we nattered a bit, exchanging patterns, pondering the pros and cons of some seeds used for jewelry. Later that day I visited her village on the outskirts of Outjo. Neither she nor the others were in the village, but the man in charge let me take some photos of their huts.
Rudimentary, each is a cone made of branches, daubed with mud. It barely offers a space to sleep and cooking is done outside on a fire of kindling fetched each day from the surrounds. A couple had doors but most had just an opening. One had some animal skins hung up to dry.
ITCHY FEET TRAVELS 