Wooding their way through life

Jamie-Lee Loss Most people look at wood and don’t see much potential, but in April 2020, Woodie’s Creations was founded by Erich Kunderer, a teacher at Waldorf School, and two learners from the same school, Elrisha Ochurus and Magreth Nuru/khom.Woodie’s Creations is a local carpentry business that makes a range of products out of wood, which include brushes, cutlery, games, benches, accessories and more. In simple terms, your wish is their command. “The business was created as a way to keep busy and creative during the lockdown,” Ochurus said.Woodie’s Creations also provides the learners with a platform to learn how to not only make these wooden products, but also teaches them how to sell their products to their target market. “We work on Wednesdays after school and sell our products at local markets and lodges,” Ochurus said. They further sell their products to The Bio-Market in Klein Windhoek, Klein-Aus Vista Desert Lodge and Gondwana lodges. The trio mentioned that the project is going quite well and that they have a total of seven learners who work extremely hard to make the dream work. The learners said they do struggle to find the balance between school and work, but highlight that it is extremely rewarding to see the look on a client’s face after telling them that the products were made by the youth. The main reason they started to involve other learners in the project is because they want them to be exposed to and have a clear idea of what the business world is really like.The learners mentioned that there aren’t enough opportunities for the youth to tap into the business world and that they were just lucky enough to have such a supportive teacher by their side. “He worked well with us and came up with wonderful ideas. Without his support, we would have had more challenges,” Ochurus said.Their advice to young people looking to start their own businesses is that there will be challenges, but if it’s really what you want, go for it. “Don’t give up on your education, though, because they go hand in hand.”

Wooding their way through life

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-17

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Wooding their way through life

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-17

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