Namibia’s artisanal mining and tourism sectors are set to receive a boost, thanks to government collaboration with Germany’s GIZ.
As reported by the Namibian, the Namibia Mine Stones (sustainable jewellery production) and the GeoPark Brandberg projects are designed to diversify the livelihoods of the country’s small-scale miners. The first project will see the creation of three lines of jewellery using locally produced gemstones, while the latter offers tourists the opportunity to join mining tours and take part in guided village walks.
According to Doufi Namalambo, the gemstone sector’s industry-growth facilitator, ‘integrating tourism into the gemstone value chain is an opportunity to diversify the income of small miners, improve their livelihoods, and formally structure the market’.
