Worker housing high priority of Namibian table grape industry, but government inaction holds back new town
There are roughly 12,000 to 15,000 permanent and seasonal workers in the Aussenkehr Valley and Noordoewer to grow, harvest and pack Namibia’s 7.5 million 4.5kg cartons of table grapes.
Every year thousands of Namibians come from as far north as the Kavango Region to the south of Namibia in the hope of seasonal opportunities in the vineyards during the two months of the table grape season.
This year, more people than usual came, says Kobus Bothma, vice-chair of the Namibian Grape Growers Association, as Namibia’s economy suffers under Covid and drought.