Flowing Boteti River looks set to revolutionise peasants' life

Nestled between the Orapa-Maun road and Boteti River, Khumaga village has developed rapidly in the past four years since I last visited the place.

Around 2006, the village was a dusty quiet rural settlement.  But now things are different.  Boteti River, which has been dry for some decades, is now filled with water.  In the past, this writer wrote about the then dry river.  People in the Boteti sub-district are peasant farmers.  As is usual, the river has always (when it had water) been used among other things, as a source of fish.  However, due to the dryness of the river for some time, the lives of these people, most of whom have built their homes along the river, has become desolate and poverty an order of the day.  They have been concentrating much on farming - tilling the land and rearing livestock.  Now the river is flowing, and looks set to revolutionise life in Khumaga. Though fishing has not started in earnest, some people are said to be using nets to catch fish.  It is used mainly for relish in homesteads and also sold, especially to outsiders.