By Surihe Gaomas GOBABIS The smoke from the embers of a smouldering fire stings her eyes. She opens the lid of the three-legged pot and stirs the stew before replacing the lid. “This is my way of survival,” says 25-year-old Else Kao whilst peeling onions and preparing green peppers. A delicious aroma fills the air, attracting a customer keen on buying. “How much?” asks a potential buyer. “Only eight dollars for the big one and seven dollars for the smaller one,” Kao says with an inviting grin. It’s a bitterly cold and windy Tuesday morning in the town of Gobabis, the regional capital of the Omaheke Region, but for a businesswoman like Kao and many others lining the town’s main road this is their way of earning a living. “Where can I get Herero bread?” asks the customer, referring to home-baked bread after getting a sizzling piece of steak on his plate. Kao replies, “over there sir,” pointing in the direction of a couple of other Herero ladies selling their foodstuffs at this spot. Whenever visiting this cattle town, you are very likely to taste the well-spiced meat from these informal traders who prepare the meat in round, three-legged, black pots. The “Onyama ladies”, as they are known by the many who have tasted their meat, operate opposite the Engen Service Station and in front of the Omaheke Regional Council Offices. They come here as early as six o’clock each morning to light up their fires and cook the meat for their customers who frequently stop over when leaving or entering the town. “I was unemployed for a very long time. That is why I decided to start this business in 2004 to make some money for my three children who are all at school. Doing this is much better than just sitting around,” says 29-year-old Cornelia Kao. For her, this is the only business that keeps her going on a daily basis, as finding a job in the mainstream is in many instances very difficult. With a monthly profit of N$1 200 this businesswoman not only uses the money to pay for her children’s school fees, but she pays the rent and also manages to send a little money to her parents. “It is really not at all easy for us here. Sometimes if you are lucky you’ll make N$150 in one day and other times it is so little. Now that it is so windy and cold today, the customers are not coming,” says Kamatjipose Mbakuua, another local seller who’s been doing this kind of business for the past seven years. She initially started selling cooked meat along the street, but she later joined the women selling their meat – or onyama – under the tree just next to the regional offices. For these women, its all about doing something for themselves instead of sitting around wasting time – or even waiting for a helping hand from government. “It is really hopeless not to do something for yourself. At least you must try,” said Mbakuua whilst scooping up a spoonful of minced meat onto a plate for a waiting customer. When asked why they only specialize in selling meat, the ladies smiled, saying: “Well that’s what the customers want, Namibians here love their onyama.” However, with more customers at the end of the month, some of the women prepare fuller meals with vegetables and some starch-like rice topped up with a large juicy steak. Such a meal would go for N$15. When sitting in a dusty place without any shelter, bad weather conditions like this chilly and windy morning can be a tough calling on the Onyama ladies of Gobabis. “We need money for a marketplace, even money for start-up capital for us to be able to save some money in the bank,” said 32-year-old Vicky Kao, wafting the fire with a piece of cardboard to fan the flames. Hopefully, the dreams are about to be realized soon – towards the end of the month – as they anticipate moving to another place on the opposite side of the regional council where all the braaing facilities have already been set up. As a word of advice to other unemployed people, Kao says “most women are too shy to come and sit in the sun to sell meat like we do, because they fear their skin complexion will change. But the time has come for Namibians to do something for themselves too.”