WINDHOEK – The first Namibian mahangu paper factory, the Onankali Mahangu Paper Making Cooperative Ltd, say although their production is not severely affected by the current drought, they still have to share mahangu stalks between the factory and their livestock.
The project is a community-based paper making initiative, which was established in 2002 to manufacture paper from mahangu stalks in the northern regions of Namibia. The company has a presence at the Onankali community trust centre, Onyati and Onyaanya, both villages in the Oshikoto Region and employs 11 people. The cooperative started its operations after receiving training and technical support through the Rössing Foundation, the University of Namibia (Unam) northern campus, the Small and Medium Development Enterprises and Africa Groups of Sweden. The production manager of the factory, Sylvia Amutenya, with her assistant Secilia Katondoka, travelled all the way from the north to come and exhibit their natural mahangu paper products at the 11th Conference of Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD COP 11), which is taking place at the Country Club Resort and Casino in Windhoek. The two businesswomen explained that they are conserving natural resources, since they do not have to cut down any trees to make paper.
“We know that one can make paper out of wood, but since the cutting down of trees causes desertification, we decided to use mahangu stalks to manufacture paper,” Amutenya noted.
Explaining the entire production process, Katondoka said they collect mahangu stalks after the harvest season. “We then cut and cook them. After cooking they become softer and then we wash them before we pound the cooked stalks until they are fine. Thereafter, we dry them using a hydraulic pressing machine or a wooden plank. We then put the pounded stalks into a crushing machine before putting them in moulders and deckles for measurements, depending on the size of paper we want to manufacture,” she elaborated.
Afterwards, the workers come up with product ideas and designs. Asked if their business has not been affected negatively by the current drought, the duo said they are affected to some extent. “We are still a small business. But we managed to collect enough stalks. It is however a challenge because we have to share the stalks with our animals and business,” Amutenya said. The company has appealed to potential investors to assist them with professional quality paper making machines to increase their productivity, since at the present they can only manufacture on a small scale. Their final natural products include photo albums, greeting cards, fridge magnets, notebooks, bookmarkers, folders, gift boxes and envelopes. They say they produce different paper sizes ranging from A4, to A3 and A2 and their prices range from as little as N$3 up to N$120. However, exhibitors at COP 11, who are close to 40 including Amutenya and Katondoka, have bemoaned the fact that the flow of customers is discouraging.