Botswana

Botswana is home to one of Africa’s last great wilderness areas, the Kalahari Desert, the “Bushmen,” and the lush marshes, rivers, and islands that make up the Okavango Delta.

Orientation

Spend five days at the Mokolodi Nature Reserve learning about Botswana's culture, participating in Setswana language classes, taking game drives, visiting the wild animal infirmary, and exploring the markets and cultural sites of the capital, Gaborone.

Homestay

Experience life in rural Botswana during your three-week village stay. As you walk the dusty red roads of your host community, you get to know local shopkeepers, play with the village children, and participate in social events.

Sample activities:
Assist at local schools; visit diamond mines and a local wildlife reserve; play in a community soccer game; learn about HIV/AIDS education; meet traditional healers.

Sample host communities:
Otse, Mmankgodi

Community Service

Work with villagers, builders, and local leaders on important
development projects designed to improve living conditions in your host community.

Sample projects:
Paint and renovate the village school; build community vegetable
gardens; engage in small-scale construction projects at an area clinic.

Eco-Travel AND Camping Safari

Explore diverse ecosystems as you travel with your group across the magnificent Kalahari and into the Okavango Delta, teeming with wildebeest, elephants, zebras, hippos, lions, baboons, and countless other species. Camp in the wilds of the Chobe National Park. Paddle a mokoro, a traditional dugout canoe, with local guides to learn more about the plants and animals of this inland waterway. An evening around the campfire is the perfect ending to your journey through Botswana.

"I bartered with merchants on the streets of Gaborone, watched elephants in Kasane, rode the waters of the Okavango, and fell in love with my homestay community."

-- John Kelley
Miami, Florida

Botswana (video)

Adrienne Keller, a former Experimenter and three time group leader, tells a story about bonding with her homestay community. Learn more about the Botswana Community Service and Outdoor Adventure program.