I’m always interested in the colourful shebeen names of the North, and whenever I visit northern Namibia I’m on the lookout for new and interesting names. The name of this tiny shebeen, cleverly repurposed using the discarded structure of an old toilet, hardly came as a surprise.
I heard about it on a recent trip. I was discussing some of the intriguing shebeen names with Ondangwa locals when someone mentioned this upcycled shebeen in the rural area, east of the town. It immediately piqued my interest and I contacted the owner, Reinhold Dhiginina Nehale to find out more.
He told me that when he was retrenched during Covid he found himself with two problems: one, that he didn’t have any income and two, that he had a lot of time on his hands. He also missed having a place to socialise. He decided to do something about it.
With very little funds on hand, he found the discarded toilet structure and assembled it in a field, making an opening on the one side and erecting a shelter outside to provide some shade for his customers. The new shebeen was only 1.2 x 1.2 metres, but there was just enough space from for him and his coolbox.
It quickly became popular. Reinhold didn’t give it a name, but people started to refer to it as the ‘Oka-Shaize shebeen’ and the name stuck. Now that life has resumed and everyone is back at work, it only opens in the month of December.
I was so impressed with his ingenuity in difficult times - and his unique marketing strategy - that I decided to sponsor a signboard for the shebeen.
When I contacted him again to tell him that I had been to see the shebeen, he was so happy to hear that I liked it that he invited me to his double-wedding in December.
I’m looking forward to going and to giving him the sign with the unusual, descriptive, name.