Africa-Press – Namibia. The Mutjimagumwe Woodwork Cooperative was officially launched in the Mpungu constituency of the Kavango West region last week, marking a shift from exporting raw timber to local value-addition.
The cooperative is a result of the Namibia Integrated Landscape Approach for Enhancing Livelihoods and Environmental Governance to Eradicate Poverty (Nilaleg) project, a partnership between the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the Global Environmental Facility.
The cooperative has already created 18 jobs and generated substantial income for the local artisans.
“What we are celebrating today is more than the opening of a carpentry workshop. We are celebrating resilience, unity and vision and the power of our people coming together, pooling their skills and energy, and creating new opportunities for themselves and their families,” Mpungu constituency councillor Titus Shiudifonya said during the launch.
The Minister of Environment, Forestry and Tourism, Indileni Daniel called the cooperative a powerful symbol of transformation.
“This woodwork cooperative represents a shift from exporting raw timber to producing high-quality furniture and products crafted with skill, pride and purpose by our own people,” she said.
UNDP resident representative Alka Bhatia emphasised the cooperative’s broader impact, saying such initiatives “are not handouts; they are community-owned vehicles of change.”
The project has already created employment, trained young artisans, and introduced sustainable sourcing principles that reduce pressure on natural resources.
Gender integration is a key pillar of the cooperative, with women not only benefiting, but also actively leading change at the new workshop thathas already begun producing high-quality furniture.
The cooperative is part of the larger Nilaleg project success story, which has created more than 2 600 jobs, reached nearly 62 000 beneficiaries (almost half of whom are women), and restored more than 17 000 hectares of degraded land while boosting household incomes by nearly 50%.
With a N$6 million investment in modern infrastructure and equipment, the cooperative aligns with the 2025 regional theme: “Empowering communities, transforming agriculture and creating sustainable employment.”
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