Catching up with OMDis

Explorer Kate Leeming sets out to make the first bicycle journey down Namibia’s Skeleton Coast, where the Namib Desert meets the Atlantic Ocean. Kate’s thousand-mile journey sees her enduring some of the most inhospitable conditions on the planet, in one of Africa’s most remote and spectacular locations. She ends her journey in Oranjemund, where her story lingers for a while on this unique town and what it offers. The series is now showing on Outside TV, its market is mainly USA and Australia. Sponsored by OMDis.

Situated on the northern edge of Oranjemund, Frutee Community Garden Project, is an exemplary community project that plays an important role in food security and self-sufficiency.

OMDis Town Transform Agency “OMDis” was established in August of 2019 as an S21 Company by NAMDEB Diamond Corporation with the sole purpose of proactively accelerating the diversification of the Oranjemund economy, alongside the efforts of other town stakeholders. The goal of the agency is to transform the Town’s economic future beyond mining.

Basecamp the StartUp Incubation and Innovation Centre of StartUp Namibia, alongside OMDis Town Transform Agency hosted a Makerthon in Oranjemund from 9 – 11 November 2020.

Namibia was hit hard in 2020 with the Covid-19 pandemic, as was the rest of the world. One of the industries that came under severe pressure was Tourism, one of the mainstay’s of Namibia’s economy. It was no surprise then that, despite restrictions and a financial hole in most businesses’ pockets, it was decided to proceed with the Namibia Tourism Expo.

Oranjemund has been a mystery for many years, everyone knows about it but very few have seen it. This was mainly due to the town be a restricted area, an accessory works built in 1936 to service the diamond mining industry. As such, only people working for the mine could live there, and visits from friends and family were strictly controlled. Today, after 84 years, Oranjemund is a much-changed town.

Fruitful discussion was held at Sonop Farms regarding their operations along the north bank road at Noordoewer. Topics covered included Sonop’s operations and business model, legalities around agriculture on state owned land,