Every community has things it needs to stay healthy and strong. Some places have grocery stores, clean water and electricity close by, while others must work harder to get these things. In this field note, I will share what I learned about living in a very remote village in Botswana; the challenges people face to get food, water and other resources; and how the community works together to meet these needs in creative and traditional ways.
In my village, there are no grocery stores. In the village where I live, the closest grocery store is two hours away on a long dirt road. Many people do not have cars, and there are very few jobs, making it very difficult to travel to buy food.
Even though we are very remote, I still have running water and electricity at my house! Not everyone does, though, and many people in my village collect water from the communal taps, which source water from a borehole (a type of well) or from the river. This task is typically left for women, who collect the water in large sealable buckets and then carry those heavy buckets on top of their heads.
Last week, heavy rainfall knocked the electricity out for a whole week!
