OPUWO

In far northwestern Namibia lies Opuwo, a very diverse land and home to the Himba, a very old and traditional tribe. They wear goatskin clothes, pile on jewelry, and stain their hair and skins red with ochre. Opuwo also has other very traditional tribes, like Thimba and Herero. Each has its own unique and individual style of dress by which they are easy to identify. It was beautiful to see. Unfortunately, the area went through a period of overexposure because of their traditions and diversity, and were inundated with photographers and documentary filmmakers. Thus they are not very fond of photos, unless you are paying. Further, the kids see a white person and hear a cash register…it was very hard to deal with the nonstop barrage of “One dolla? One dolla? Maybe later?” especially knowing that it is likely the only English these kids know…some looked only 4! You do what it takes to survive, I guess.

Several volunteers live in Opuwo, and so on a long weekend many of us went to visit and take in the culture. The scenery of northwestern Namibia is gorgeous. My region is flat and dusty and bare, so it was nice to see greenery and elevation!

Himba children - they were so sweet and happy!

Beautiful scenery

Sculpture of a Himba woman