yego.me
💡 Stop wasting time. Read Youtube instead of watch. Download Chrome Extension

Sharing Nkashi: Race for the Okavango with people of the Okavango Delta | National Geographic


2m read
·Nov 10, 2024

Around the Okavango Delta, it isn’t just wildlife that relies on the waterways. The Delta is what we base our livelihood on. My relationship with mokoro goes way back to when I was a child. I was raised on it; I fish on it. It’s what I use to raise and provide for my children and teach them to catch fish here in the Okavango.

For the last several years, National Geographic and De Beers have organized and supported the Nkashi Classic. A boat race designed to show how the mokoro – an everyday mode of transport – can be a source of personal and cultural pride. In my opinion, this competition has many benefits because many people loved it. And many people even came to me and said, "Bokspits, can we please form a team because now we are showing our culture and our skill like we used to do long ago."

The Okavango Eternal partnership supported the creation of a film called “Nkashi: Race for the Okavango” about people competing in the event. They recently took it on a roadshow through the villages of the Delta – attracting crowds that get to see their friends and family on screen. This film made me very happy, and it made my parents happy, and well represented Botswana.

The film encouraged more people to compete in the event, which offers prizes and raises the profile of communities and traditions of the Delta nationally and even internationally. It makes me feel like even I should be serious about training so that I can be like Pretty, so that my name can also be famous. Up and comers got a chance to try their hand in the heats to qualify for the next Nkashi Classic.

Nowadays, we now know that women can also join these types of competitions. They shouldn’t get left behind. They can be like me operating mokoro and joining events like this. As the Nkashi Classic becomes more well-known, communities will continue to feel more connected and uplifted – helping to attract tourists to come see what this mokoro race is all about.

More Articles

View All
Meet Jeff, a creator of AP Statistics on Khan Academy | AP Statistics | Khan Academy
I was a teacher for 10 years in Kazu Public Schools. They’re a midsize urban district in Southwest Michigan. In my first three years, I taught Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2—the core math classes. But I also taught an introductory statistics course. Then,…
Beginning of the Greco Persian Wars | World History | Khan Academy
This right here is a map of the Persian Empire in 490 BCE before the Common Era, and you see that it is an extensive empire. It was established by Cyrus the Great and then his successors. We talked about it in previous videos, how they were able to conque…
Homeroom with Sal & Linda Darling-Hammond - Thursday, August 20
Hi everyone, Sal here from Khan Academy. Welcome to our homeroom live stream. I’m very excited about the conversation we’re going to have with Linda Darling-Hammond. Before we jump into that, I’ll give my standard announcements first. A reminder that Kha…
15 Ways To OPTIMIZE Your MONEY
They say money can’t buy you happiness, but it certainly can come as close as possible to doing so. Having your finances in order brings you a sense of peace and security because you know there’s always a backup plan. On the other hand, when your finances…
What Does Colonizing Mars Look Like? | MARS
What will life be like in a early Mars colony? ROGER LAUNIUS: Let’s take some stages in terms of how we might do things on Mars. There is exploration, somebody going out and coming back. The next stage would be some sort of research station. We will most…
Why following your dreams is ruining your life
Okay. So, I’ve been wanting to make this video for a long time, and I’m still not totally confident that I have the exact words that I want to say, but I am pretty passionate about this concept. And I think there is sort of a toxic narrative in the world …