Tikoloshe Afrika
In the 1980-ies, on a farm in north-central Namibia, Paul Goldbach met Paulo Cashinga, a skilled woodcarver from the Kavango region. Paul first encountered root carving in South America, but when he witnessed Cashinga carving a traditional Springbok out of a tree trunk, he was so impressed that he decided to try out a business idea with him.
In his spare time Paul managed the startup, while Paulo Cashinga carved an amazing and fascinating variety of Namibian fauna mainly from the roots of Mustard tree, Tamboti and Ironwood. Unfortunately, Paulo Cashinga passed away in 2012, but his characteristic root carved sculptures continue to decorate house and homes, nationally and abroad.
The original team of eight carvers changed in recent years and now consists of five woodworkers, named Johannes Lirunga, Lino Kativa, Lipenda Kambinda, Ndingi Ndumba and Nanda David. These talented craftsmen share the late Paulo Cashingas skill, vision, and ability to carve from gnarled, curved roots and are since the early years the core of Tikoloshe, fascinating the visitors again and again with matchless, almost animated Namibian animal sculptures. Additional three saleswomen and two people in the administration, complete the team.