Batswana’s traditional architecture dying

I hate concrete blocks! True, they are durable, cheap and make the building of houses easier. And they are readily available and come in different sizes. For these reasons, they are the building materials of choice in Botswana, especially those on a low income. Visit any low-income residential area in our towns and you will see row upon row of drab, single storey soulless concrete boxes roofed with sheets of zinc, or corrugated iron. Most of these homes are of the ‘two and a half’ variety consisting of two small end rooms linked with an even smaller room that may serve either as a kitchen, laundry room... And the yards of such homes may be littered with construction debris – concrete, broken concrete blocks... And the boundary of the yard is often marked by an often unsightly wire mesh fence or one that simply consists of a few strands of barbed wire which too often may lie on the ground.Such ‘modern’ buildings are little more than eyesores and not appealing to the eye! In many villages in Botswana today, one would be hard pressed to even locate one traditional rondavel! In contrast, the homes of the more affluent are much more attractive. Many are built of attractive bricks, have verandas and are roofed with red tiles, Spanish style. But despite this, like low-income homes, they are not built in the traditional style. But photos of our villages taken fifty years or so ago show a very different story.Then almost all homes were traditional eye-catching rondavels, mud built and roofed with thatch. The courtyard, or lolwapa, in front of the home would have had a floor of mud mixed with kraal manure enclosed by a low mud wall which, in turn, would have attractive designs etched into the mud. And the boundary of the yard would most likely have been marked by a hedge of motsetse, or rubber hedge, plants. Such traditional dwellings were made of locally available natural materials and so were more attractive and in tune with the local environment. These days, it seems that traditional building skills are not being passed down to the younger generation. Hence, there is a real possibility that traditional building methods may simply die out in the near future.The way that Batswana traditionally built their homes is part of our culture, like food, language, dress and dancing and music! No wonder, then, that the first President of the Republic, the late Sir Seretse Khama, once said that a nation that has lost its culture and forgotten its past is one that does not have a soul. How sad! Only a few aspects of our culture are today alive and kicking; traditional dancing has stood the test of time, so, why not traditional architecture? In some countries, traditional architecture is cherished and lives on, whilst in others homes may be built with a mixture of traditional and modern materials and building styles. I have travelled extensively throughout the Sahara and aspects of traditional architecture still reign supreme in most of the remote oases.For example, buildings in the oases of Timimoun and Adrar in the Algerian Sahara continue to be built in the traditional Sudanese style of architecture. Homes here are built of reddish-purple mud, and door and window frames are coated with white mud, or banco. And some buildings, especially public buildings, are constructed using a mixture of traditional and modern materials. For example, at L’Universitaire Africaine [African University] in Adrar, buildings are made of modern bricks which are plastered over with mud.And the window and door frames are a gleaming white. What a contrast to the concrete and glass of buildings at the University of Botswana in Gaborone – modern uninspiring ‘see it anywhere’ architecture that can be seen anywhere across the globe! In the M’zab valley in the Algerian Sahara, local by-laws make it mandatory for local materials to be used in building homes. Although the inner walls of homes may be built with concrete blocks, residents must also build an outer wall of local stone to make them look more authentic. And rules apply to new buildings in the oasis of Ideles in the Hoggar mountains of southern Algeria. Here the lower half of walls must be built of local stone. In the desert regions of southern Morocco, modern materials may be used for building. However, the ugly concrete blocks must be plastered with coloured cement, either yellow, pink, brown, or reddish brown to blend in with the colours of the surrounding arid landscape.And in each town, all buildings must be of the same colour! Tozeur is an oasis in southern Tunisia. Now, if you think that bricks are all the same then think again! Here in the old town buildings are constructed of small ochre coloured, rectangular-shaped bricks. To make them, local clay and sand are mixed, soaked in water, and then poured into wooden moulds. Finally, the bricks are baked in a kiln for three days at temperatures of up to 1 000oC. Not only do the bricks make the walls, but they also protrude from the outer walls of the front of buildings to produce ornate geometrical designs and patterns.Today, this brickwork is unique to this part of Tunisia and the only other place in the world where such bricks are made today is Iran. Diehard traditionalists here swear by these ‘wonder bricks’ saying that they provide better insulation against the winter cold and summer heat than their modern equivalents, concrete breeze-blocks. Botswana is a major tourist destination. But tourists do not come here to view modern concrete brick and glass buildings – they see plenty of those back home. Hence, tour operators build attractive traditional chalets at their lodges, especially in the Okavango Delta.Big Valley Game Lodge near Lobatse is a major attraction for both locals and tourists. Here the double storey chalets are made of small modern bricks. However, these cannot be seen from the outside since the walls are plastered with cement into which are embedded large greyish black slabs of attractive locally available slate. To encourage people to use traditional building methods, perhaps some of our vocational training institutions, such as the Brigades, could develop courses to impart these skills. But in some of our more remote villages, such as Mosu by Sowa Pan, some residents still plaster their traditional mud-built homes every year before the rains begin. Here they mix natural colourants into the plaster.These are mainly sourced locally - red brown from loam soils in the Dukwi area; grey from muddy river banks; pale green and white from calcrete; and black from charcoal. And in villages around the Okavango Delta, such as Etsha and Shakawe, villagers still construct and live in traditional homes made up of local reeds obtained from the banks of the Okavango. So, people in other villages across the country should emulate these villagers and so keep our culture alive.Grahame McLeod

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Batswana’s traditional architecture dying