Food & Daily life
Traditional living
Historically, Botswana was a nation of livestock farmers, with communities settling near reliable water sources and keeping cattle, goats, sheep and chickens.Daily life
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Traditional village houses (ntlo) were round thatched huts made from mud bricks plastered with soil and cow dung, decorated with exterior designs.
Modern living
With Botswana’s economy rapidly modernising, many people have migrated to the towns and cities.Sometimes children are left in village communities to be raised by family members. Extended family networks are an important part of society.
Today, houses are mostly rectangular and made from cement and breeze blocks with metal or tile roofs.
Staple foods
Botswana’s traditional local dishes use sorghum or maize as their basis, prepared as a porridge (bogobe) or pap.
This staple is accompanied by servings of meat such as seswaa (a salted stewed beef) or vegetable sauces such as wild spinach or pumpkin.
Other popular local dishes include serobe (made from goats, sheep or cow lungs and intestines) and recipes which use imported bread-flour such as matemekwane (dumplings) and magwinya, dough balls deep-fried in fat (known as fat cakes).
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