Visit the Damara Living Museum

Learn about Damara culture at this fascinating living museum. Namibia is home to some of the world’s oldest communities, including the San, Ovambo, Herero and Damara people. These hunter-gatherer bushmen have roamed the country for centuries and are an essential part of Namibia’s heritage. What’s unique about the Damara people is that their culture was almost completely obliterated by colonisation but has been brought back to life by this living museum.

The museum was created in 2010 by Hansbernhard Naobes, with help from Namibia’s Living Culture Foundation. The plan was to reconstruct this forgotten culture and provide employment for the modern-day Damara community. It’s set just 10km from Twyfelfontein, an area famed for its ancient rock carvings, so the museum is an ideal stop on a Damaraland itinerary.

During your visit, you’ll tour a traditional Damara village which has a blacksmith for making tools and weapons and a tannery for clothing. See how women make jewellery and learn how to make a fire. The bushwalk is a highlight; you’ll help forage for edible and medicinal plants and watch how men set up the traps and snares for hunting. Join in with songs, dance and traditional games – it’s a unique cultural experience you’ll never forget.

Photo courtesy of Gustav Lorenz and the Damara Living Museum.