Many of you have asked about the town, or rather village, in which I live and work.  You ask therefore you shall receive…

Otavi, a village in the Otjozondjupa Region of north central Namibia, population is approximately 9,000 people.  This is considerably dissimilar from my humble home in the States with a metroplex of one million people, approximately half of the entire Namibian population. 

However, what Otavi is lacking in numbers, the region makes up in natural beauty. The scenery from Otavi to Grootfontein is arguably the most beautiful in Namibia.  It is part of what is known as the Green Triangle, a lush mountainous region between Otavi, Tsumeb, and Grootfontein. 

Otavi’s main street touts a post office, two banks, two grocery stores, and a Pep clothing store. The shops are lively on weekends until 1 pm when everything closes and it becomes a ghost town.  I made the mistake of attempting to visit town at 1:30 pm on a Saturday afternoon and the town was eerily quiet and one could imagine tumbleweeds whirling down the drag as donkeys stroll lazily along. 

I find that walking to and from town results in the distinctive odor of dirt.  The aroma is difficult to explain as it is not the stench of grubbiness it’s merely the smell of the sandy soil that is kicked up, creates dust storms, and permeates every crevice of your being until it is impossible to smell clean… ever.

The remainder of town consists of a handful of streets lined with modest concrete homes and businesses and schools scattered throughout.  However, once you cross the railroad tracks you reach Location.  The former government created “Locations” in towns as a resettlement tool to institute apartheid.  Many towns have multiple locations with unique names; similar to what you might think of as a suburb, however Otavi is small enough that there is only one nameless Location. 

Location is virtually a town of its own with its own shops, shebeens, churches, community center, and school. The houses vary in opulence as well, there are modest concrete homes and informal settlements; homes of tin that are held together with whatever makeshift items could be mustered together.  Location is very much the heart of Otavi. 

There you have it. My little village in the green triangle where I will live and work for the next two years.