The Philosophy of a Basket

Did you know our FlyNamibia logo is inspired by an African basket?

The basket is something that many cultures in Africa, and across the world, have in common. It is a characteristic feature of our societies, our ethnicities, our history, and our homes. A basket is like a time capsule of information where we come from. Our company ethos is based on the concept of Ubuntu, which contains the school of thought I am, because we are. During our rebranding process last year we decided to delve deeper into this and the stories that shape our lives, our country and our continent. When exploring these stories and ways of thinking we found the collective hope, dreams and journeys we were looking for in the philosophy of a basket.

The basket teaches us that to understand anything you have to go to the very beginning. A basket is woven by joining several strands of material to form a navel, followed by the base, and the rest weaves out from there. Nobody makes a basket starting from the rim. At FlyNamibia we are proud of our Namibian roots and even prouder of the strong team we are continuously weaving together to build an airline that a nation can be proud of.

The basket encapsulates wholeness and completeness. The basket is essentially a circle, and circles are very important symbols in most African cultures. They represent continuity and connectedness. At FlyNamibia we aspire to offer Namibians more opportunities, more potential for growth and more connections, within Namibia and with the rest of the world.

A basket is woven with multiple threads. Therefore the basket teaches us about interdependence, as expressed in the African philosophy of Ubuntu, which is the belief that you become human in the midst of others, and also that all of nature (including humans as part of nature) is interconnected. In that sense, it teaches us respect, responsibility, and the need to cultivate peaceful co-existence.

The basket is a symbol for giving back, or paying forward. In many cultures a basket is used to carry a gift or offering to someone. We continually strive to be in a position in which we can give back to our country, our industry and our team.

The basket is about nourishment. It is a container for food. The aviation industry is an incredibly important economic driver. It not only transports people, but also food and essential services.

The basket is about environmental consciousness. It is made from elements of the land: leaves, grass, fibres, wool, and leather – all of them products of natureh. Our country’s proud heritage of solid environmental practices and sustainability is something all Namibians cherish and a challenge all Namibian companies should strive to support.