10 minutes with local taste makers

Kämə/Michele Labuschagne

Intention is everything, this we know. So it goes without saying that an intentionally hand-made Mala, picked out with pure intentions (as a gift to yourself or someone else), “is some powerful shit”, as Michele, Creative Director of Kämə, puts it. Intention is their ethos, I mean, the name Kämə literally means “to pause,” to be still and aware. By the way, it’s pronounced “komma”.

Kämə sprouted from the collaborative efforts of Suzi Seha and Marianne Labuschagne. Suzi is a yoga instructor and graphic designer, Marianne (Michele’s mom) the business mind and she is incredibly knowledgeable about essential oils. Together they started out manufacturing small batches of chakra massage candles fragranced with essential oils. Each candle has a semi-precious gemstone embedded in it that correlates with the chakra it’s intended for. “Malas were the natural next step”, Michele says. Kämə paused (pun intended) the production of candles, so Michele took over and redirected their focus. Both Marianne and Suzi remain silent partners.

Now if you still have no clue what a Mala is: it’s a continuous string of 108 beads, a guru bead which Michele defines as “the energy centre” and often a tassel at the end.

Mala translated from Sanskrit means garland (short poems or ballads), which is symbolic of the way a Mala ought to be used: preferably seated, with a positive affirmation in mind which you repeat 108 times as you count the beads. Why?, you might ask. I did, and Michele says that it takes 108 repetitions for our brains to reprogram those negative pathways we choose by default. Kämə Malas are fine looking necklaces of semi-precious stones and other beads, hand-made by Michele, and rounded off with genuine Namibian leather tassels. Plus they carry those affirmational good vibes with them and spice up your outfit in the process.

How does a Timeware consultant of 24 come to make Malas as a side hustle? “Making charm bracelets as a teenage girl”, says Michele with a nostalgic laugh. She spent her afternoons in primary school at Jenny’s Place in Windhoek, where her mom owned a small curio shop. The shop manager, Kayleigh, taught her the basics of jewelry making and Michele has been fond of it ever since. “It’s therapeutic”, she says.

After running a goldsmith short-course and making Malas for the last three years, Michele is determined to translate her affinity for spiritual practice and passion for jewelry making into practical and pretty tools that we can all use to facilitate our own growth. “Almost all major religions have some form of prayer bead, which essentially is what a Mala is”, says Michele. So it’s not even a question of some new-age mumbo jumbo, it’s ancient and “we could seriously benefit from bringing more positivity into our own lives and the lives of others.” She maintains that mindfulness is not simply a word-ofthe-moment, a fad to be infatuated with that dissipates as quickly as it came. No, mindfulness is the very future of our collective sanity.

Truth be told, it’s a strange feeling interviewing your big sister. That’s right, she is my sister. And this just goes to show that tastemaking is all around us. And I don’t mean the internet and all its influencers. No, the real tastemakers whose uplifting influence is so ingrained in our lives that we take it for granted. But boy, life would be dull without their finicky construction of a cheese board and insistence on a photo opportunity. Here’s to honouring your local tastemakers! Chances are, you’ve known them your whole life.

Kämə Malas are available at The Red Shelf in Windhoek & Swakopmund as well as via DM on Instagram @kame.lifestyle.

Charene Labuschagne

Photos by La Vie Est Photography