About Nharo

Nharo founder Paul Wellhauser moved to Botswana for an internship position with a Human Rights NGO. Out of this work, Paul founded Nharo. 

Over the years, we have had many adventures on the way as we search out crystals, skulls, sculptures and cultures. Paul was trained how to respect the words of elders, to greet and ask how someone is doing before blurting out a problem, and how to generally be polite in the context of Africa. These skills have been important over the years in opening doors to new people and places!

In 2009, Yemi Laotan walked up to Paul's booth at Yonge-Dundas Square in Toronto. Paul moved into her apartment a few days later and today they are married with twins who arrived in April 2015. Yemi is behind the scenes most of the time as Paul is the seller. Yemi handles all the shipping and online orders. Both of them work to corral the joyful exuberance of Paul Jr. and Lola.

DIRECT FROM AFRICA

We have been traveling once or twice a year to buy our goods directly from African artisans, miners and cultural. The Ju/'hoansi San in Namibia taught Paul about the concept of "Real People". We are funded by customers who love what we are doing and supplied by real people whose stories we enjoy sharing.  

Over the years we have evolved from buying artifacts to becoming known for our gems and minerals. This website allows us to showcase a wide range of products that represent the whole history of our company. 

In the interest of being bilateral we have strived to bring African people to Canada to allow them to see the full picture of how we market their products. In the same way that the people who create and dig have a big job, the task of marketing and growing this business has been fraught with challenges which were averted mainly by perseverance and a certain stubbornness of character. 

Nharo has a long history of events that have taken our to many of the summer festivals of Ontario, the annual Canadian National Exhibition and Gem Shows from Coast to Coast in Canada and beyond. We are now very much transitioning to the online world.