Khwai

Khwai a small village of approximately 400 BaBukakhwe or River Bushmen located just outside Moremi Game Reserve in Northern Botswana. The people of Khwai are currently developing an eco-tourism and sustainable development program to conserve the area's unique environment.

The Babukakhwae are a section of the Basarwa, bushmen or San, whichever term you prefer. Most of the people in Khwai are Babukakhwae but some are Bayei as well. Bukakhwaedam is the ancestral language of this village, but Setswana, English and Afrikaans are also heard.

Archeological evidence suggests that various Basarwa groups have been living in Botswana for at least 22,000 years but it is not known when the Babukakhwae identity coalesced and when they became attached to the Khwai floodplain. The elders of Khwai remember leading more traditional lifestyles of hunting and gathering up until the 1960s when they were encouraged to settle into villages. The villagers originally settled into what is now a part of Moremi Game Reserve but were forcibly removed by the Government of Botswana.

They are currently working on building a community run safari organization as part of Botswana's community based natural resource management program.