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Food & Drink


In historical times, men in Botswana were responsible for hunting, while women gathered fruit, tubers, vegetables and grains. Due to the harsh climate of the Kalahari these people were nomadic and did not plant crops. With the development of villages and towns, hardy crops such as millet, sorghum and maize were grown. Chickens, cattle and goats are farmed. Meat and other amenities are available from a widespread network of shops and supermarkets (with the exception of remote areas deep in the Kalahari and Okavango Delta).
 

In cities and towns, life is a lot simpler with a variety of conveniences to choose from. Meat dishes are common and Botswana is well known for its quality beef. Seswaa is prepared by men during feasts or ceremonies and consists of ground beef cooked in water with only salt as an additive. Serobe is another popular Botswana dish and consists of intestines of sheep, goat or cow. Chickens are commonly found around homesteads. These dishes are served with large helpings of maize meal porridge, the staple diet of Africa. Spinach, carrots, cabbage, snow peas, beans onions, potatoes, sweet potatoes, tomatoes and lettuce are produced commercially.

Traditional Botswana foods include a large tuber known as morama, wild African fruits such as marula are harvested and wild melons (an important source of moisture) are common in the Kalahari.
 

In the wetlands of the Okavango, Linyanti and Chobe, catching fish is a way of life and local delicacies include bream, tigerfish and barbel (catfish). Mopane worms and flying termites are collected extensively during the wet season and are an important protein source.
 

Traditional Drinks
 

A number of traditional beverages are popular and locally produced in Botswana.  The most common alcoholic drink is lala-palm wine, fermented from the sap of palm trees.  Kgadi is another potent Botswana drink distilled from brown sugar and fruit.
 

Journeys2 Africa Travel Tip: drink these concoctions with caution, their kick is as fierce as a zebra’s!
 

Commercially prepared sorghum beer is known as bojalwa and is very popular.
Chibuku is a widespread beer, brewed from either maize or sorghum, and is commonly produced in Botswana (as well as in Zimbabwe, South Africa, Zambia and Malawi).
 

Non-alcoholic drinks to try out include Botswana's ginger bear or Madila, a sour milk specialty.