Pottery from Namibian soil

VISTORINA Nakanyala started her own pottery business in 2008 and has not looked back since.

In 1999 she went to Penduka and received pottery training and later at the College of the Arts until she decided to buy the equipment and start Gwaitalale pottery, named after her grandmother who taught Nakanyala the basics of pottery. ‘I inherited the talent from my grandmother so I wanted to start my own business for a long time and not waste my talent,’ says Nakanyala. She makes plates, bowls, cups, traditional bowls and much more. She can make any order to the customer’s specifications. After the pottery is done Nakanyala decorates it with her own designs. She has three helpers who assist to colour the designs in and who help her to sell her goods. They go around in the community and display her goods.’At first the community said it is impossible that I made the goods myself. They said I bought them and now just want to sell them but then I showed them my workshop and they started to buy and advertise for me,’ says Nakanyala. She also sells her goods at the Craft Centre in Windhoek.She mixes clay that she buys with clay she gets from northern Namibia to make it a truly handmade Namibian product.With the money she makes from her business she supports herself and her three children. Sometimes when she sells a lot of products she buys extra food and gives it to the sick mothers and children in the community.’There are a lot of people who suffer here and when I do well I need to share my good fortune with them,’ she says.People looking for a genuine Namibian product can phone her at 081 238 2672.

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