Namibia Craft Centre

The Namibia Craft Centre is a retail and exhibition complex in central Windhoek that serves as the country’s main marketplace for authentic handmade crafts. It occupies space in the historic Old Breweries Complex on Tal Street and offers enclosed parking. The centre opened in 1990 under Newveld Ventures Investment & Development Company (Pty) Ltd.

Management later passed to the Rossing Foundation in 1996, which expanded and upgraded the facility and added the Omba Gallery (designed by Kerry MacNamara Architects; the redesigned centre opened in 1997). Further expansions followed in 1999. In 2004 the Omba Arts Trust assumed management; in 2009 the centre was registered as a section 21 company, Namibia Arts, Craft & Design, to focus on craft development.

It provides retail space to roughly 40 women-owned and community-driven craft enterprises drawn from rural communities, various ethnic groups and development projects across Namibia. Products range from jewellery (including San ostrich-eggshell work and Himba bracelets), woven baskets, carved Makalani kernels, wild-silk scarves, handmade paper, hand-woven carpets and textiles to embroidered linen and other decorative items. Purchases support thousands of producers and their families.

The complex includes the Omba Gallery, a commercial exhibition space that regularly hosts shows by local and international artists (more than a dozen exhibitions a year). There is also the Craft Bistro, which serves meals, cakes, coffee, Namibian wines and other refreshments. The centre is open most days of the week and is a frequent stop for visitors looking for souvenirs as well as residents seeking local crafts.

By concentrating many producers under one roof, the centre creates a marketing platform that is difficult for individual rural or small-scale enterprises to achieve on their own. It has long been described as a “treasure-trove” of Namibian craft and culture, linking urban buyers and tourists with makers from different regions. Over time it has also hosted special exhibitions, markets and related cultural events.

The centre’s model emphasises authentic Namibian handicrafts, community benefit and a combination of retail, gallery and café experiences. It continues to serve as one of the most accessible and concentrated outlets for traditional and contemporary craft production in the capital.