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

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.