The Bushmen of the Kalahari

Overview Where are the Bushmen? What do the Bushmen make their living by? What are the Bushmen good at? What problem do the Bushmen face today ?

Where are the Bushmen? A tribe have lived in the Kalahari Desert for thousands of years (millennia). The oldest tribe on the earth The ancestors of all other people

What do the Bushmen make their living by? Move form place to place hunter-gathers for millennia. Hunt animals (gazelle) and gather plants (roots and bulbs) They respect Mother Nature 1. Live with nature 2. Apologize to the animal that they killed and explain why they did so

What are the Bushmen good at? Live off the land in a hot and inhospitable environment. Track animals Run for days on end with very little water

What problem do the Bushmen face ? Botswana’s relocation policy(1950’s ~ 1990’s): 1. Move out of their homeland 2. Become small-scale farmers. Attract the lucrative tourist trade and create diamond mine

The Bushmen’s Fighting Back Long-running court case against the government The Bushmen won a historic ruling (2006) However…. A small number of them return to their homeland Only 250 Bushmen live today as their ancestors. They are still harassed by the authorities.

Conclusion The Bushmen living in Kalahari are said to be the oldest tribe in the world. They are able to survive in the harsh desert by hunting and gathering. They attempt to preserve nature by the traditional lifestyle. However, Botswana’s government compelled them to leave their homeland and give up their primitive living. Although they finally got back their ownership, the government still intended to trouble them.