Kalkfeld residents can now make their own bricks, following the handover of a brick-making project by the Otjozondjupa Regional Council.

Situated about 70 km from Otjiwarongo, Kalkfeld is a settlement with more than 5,000 inhabitants.

This growth over the years has resulted in the increased need for housing, hence the idea of a brickmaking business.

The Kalkfeld brick-making project was funded by the Otjozondjupa Regional Council under the Rural Development Programme.

"In the past two years, our focus was to make plots available to the residents of Kalkfeld; now that we are done with that, we know that people would want to build houses because why do you get a plot if you cannot build? We don't want trucks to come in from Otjiwarongo or Omaruru to come and offload bricks for our people to build houses; if bricks come in from other towns, it will be more expensive again for our people," said Regional Council Chairperson, Marlayn Mbakera.

Otjozondjupa Regional Council funded the Kalkfeld brickmaking project to the tune of about N$114,000, which was used to purchase a mixer, wheelbarrow brick-making machine, cement, and a fence to fence off the project.

Three Kalkfeld residents are employed at the brickmaking project, and Robert Hamunyela is the Head of the Kalkfeld Bricks Project.

"I want to call on all our farmers and those building at Kap en bou and surrounding area, to please come assist us as we want to work and take our people off the street.

The making of bricks has already commenced.