Her extended family were skilled craftspeople who developed a local reputation for their beadwork. She joined the !Xun exodus from Angola to Namibia during the 1970s and stayed in the Omega army camp until the communities were moved to South Africa in 1991.

Emilia says, ‘I remember when my father used to come home from hunting a big animal like a kudu or buffalo. We all went to help him carry and shared the meat and the skin. He also planted watermelon and mahango. This is how my parents kept us alive. I loved getting to know nature in the wide spaces and far-away bush.Today I paint the things of nature, as well as the old Bushmen stories.