Development Workshop Namibia (DWN) is a recently registered Namibian NGO with a focus on sustainable urban development, informal settlements and the disadvantaged communities that reside in them. DWN is part of a world-wide network of Development Workshop (DW) organisations with centres in Canada, Angola and France, and offices in Vietnam and Burkino Faso. It is funded by non-governmental organisations, private citizens, and national and international development organisations.
DW was founded in 1975 by three architect students in the UK with the objective to improve the livelihoods of poor and disadvantaged communities, with a specific focus on human settlements. Over the last 40 years, DW has implemented many award winning and successful programs in over 30 countries in Africa, Asia and the Americas. DW’s biggest operation is currently in Angola, where it started working in 1981 (www.dw.angonet.org).
Meet the Team
Beat Weber (executive director) has a PhD in Urban Studies and has worked for Development Workshop Angola from 2001 to 2015, mainly in the areas of sustainable urban land use planning and informal settlement upgrading. He has authored and co-authored several geographic publications on central, eastern and southern Angola. He has founded DW Namibia in 2016 with the objective to develop a broad and sustainable program to address challenges related to informal settlements in Namibia.
Ester Veiko (project coordinator) has completed her Honours in Regional and Rural Development at NUST in 2018. She joined DW Namibia in May 2018, is stationed in the DW Namibia office in Oshakati, and is currently coordinating all DWN projects in northern Namibia.
Rimothy Mbeha (assistant project coordinator)
Sharon Ganes (intern)
Gotlieb Sheyavari Thimoteus (intern) Attained an Honors degree in Geography, Environmental Studies, and Sociology from UNAM & Masters degree in Culture &Environment in Africa from the University of Cologne. Currently working as Community-led Total Sanitation Facilitator.
Gotlib Namupala (intern) Completed a Bachelors of Regional and Rural Development from NUST in 2018. He holds a Certificate in Real Estate Principles from the NEAB and joined the DW in September 2019. He is responsible for overall monitoring and evaluation on the progress of the sanitation projects/Community Led Total Sanitation program.
Pendapala Haindongo (intern) Accounting student (UNAM), joined DW in August 2019, he assists with filing, data entry, and recording and maintaining accurate and complete financial records for DW.
Rauna Sheya (intern)
Peter Shikalepo (intern) Completed a Bachelors degree in Regional and Rural Development from NUST in 2018. He joined the DW in September 2019. He is responsible for overall monitoring and evaluation on the progress of the sanitation projects/Community Led Total Sanitation program.
Ndapandula Joel (intern) Has completed her honours degree in Geo-information science at the University of Namibia in 2018. Ndapandula recently joined DW Namibia in October 2019 as a GIS intern. A major part of her job includes acquiring and organising data, transforming it into useful information in the form of maps and engaging with community members.
Aska Orlale (media consultant) Founder of Orlale.na CC, she is reponsible for updating the DW website and the creation and updating of all DW social media pages.