Central North

The “Ovamboland” , former homeland of the Ovambo north of the Etosha Pan, was divided into the 4 districts Omusati, Ohangwena, Oshana and Oshikoto after the independence of Namibia.

13 kilometers southwest of Ondangwa is the former Finnish mission station Olukonda. The church building is now a national monument and is under the care of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Namibia. Next to the old church , the Nakambale Museum was built in 1995.

The Ovambo’s are small-scale farmers and cultivate crops by hand on the nutrient-poor and depleted soils, especially mahango and sorghum cultivation. The landscape is flat, monotonous and overpopulated. There are isolated trees between the fields and fields, or the typical Makalani palm trees from whose fruits or the core are processed into artistic carvings and sold as souvenirs.