LETTER FROM BOTSWANA

Mokolodi Indigenous Nurseries
Mokolodi, Gaborone, Botswana

An adventurous spirit took Karin and her partner Mark to Africa 18 years ago. The initial plan was to travel around the continent and then return home but the pair fell in love with what was then a very young and little known country: Botswana. Their commitment to the local people and their love of gardening has resulted in a unique initiative which is providing livelihoods and hope to many who otherwise would have had no options in life.
Karin and Mark’s story.

Mokolodi Indigenous Nurseries carries a range of Dingwana Traditional Clay Pots from Botswana. These pots are made for specific purposes, including water fetching and storage, cooking and brewing of the traditional home-brewed sorghum beer.

The pots are also used in rituals such as rainmaking and even as improvised coffins for aborted fetuses or placenta. The pots have symbolic purposes – death may be announced by smashing a pot at the entrance to the household of the bereaved. The pots are also used for medicinal purposes and valued for their decorative qualities.

The pots are created by first making a mould, then they are decorated with letsoku (red ochre) and then they are baked in a pit furnace using layers of dried cow manure overnight. The pit must be kept very hot throughout the process by blowing and fanning,

Dingwana Traditional Clay Pots are now regarded as works of art and pieces are becoming collectable.

Thank you to Dr. Pearl Seloma for information about the pots.

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