HOPE AND PROSPERITY IN THE AGE-OLD SECRETS OF THE DESERT
We are proud to introduce Namib Desert Oils as another one of our stand partners at in-cosmetics Global in Amsterdam (8–10 April 2025).
The collectors of the ingredients that make the incredible products to be showcased at the event wanted us to share their story with you so that you can understand what goes into these products and what their trade means to the indigenous communities that depend on them.
We are pleased to be part of the FairWild family. Without access to quality formal education, we were often hopeless, but we had the skills and knowledge passed down to us from our elders and concentrated on learning our traditional methods of producing various foods, cosmetics, and medicines.
A light beam in the dark
In 2019, something started to happen – a light beam in the dark. A partnership with Namib Desert Oils gave us hope and a shared vision to improve our lives and increase our income. We joined forces and used our trusted traditional methods while also enhancing our skills through tailored training to become organic wild collectors of Mongongo nuts and Kalahari melon seeds. Initially, we found it hard to believe our blessed opportunities, and still sometimes faced doubts, but we persevered.
Certification, market access, and sustainability
In 2024, we achieved FairWild certification, which improved our social status, increased our benefits, and allowed us to enter niche international markets. We also learned more about improving our own well-being and that of our community and the environment, about the organic handling of nuts and seeds, contamination risks, the sustainability of our woodlands, negotiating fair prices, and the importance of transparent communication.
The skills development and training facilitated by the Jojoba for Namibia Trust (JfNT), a project under Namib Desert Oils, enabled us to successfully set up a trading hub in our village, Sivara Village in the Kavango West region, which we named Litara Trading Hub. We produce Mongongo cooking oil, protein powder, and animal feed.
We are encouraged by our progress, the support of the Namibian Government, our increased benefits, and the successful audits from international certification bodies such as ECOCERT and FairWild. By setting and sharing our development priorities, together with our traditional leaders and communities, in partnership with JfNT, we have secured more benefits.
One of our greatest accomplishments was securing access to clean water through our community borehole, which we were able to drill through our partnership. Previously, we relied on the water we collected from the river. Now, we have water taps in our homes and additional taps available in the community.
At the moment, we use the income we earn from selling nuts and seeds to cover our children's school fees, purchase groceries and toiletries, buy furniture, and renovate our homes. In total, seven young people from our village and nearby villages secured jobs at the project and the company in Swakopmund.
While we are grateful that we can now send our children to school and give them other opportunities we didn’t have, we know now more than ever the importance and essential need to retain our indigenous knowledge and to pass it down to our children.
Sales contact: Oliver Rust
info@namibdesertoils.com