Most of the huts also had beautiful verandahs and walls that the women would painstakingly carve into impressive pieces of art that completed the stunning natural landscapes.ĭoes the traditional hut have a place in the 21st century?Įven though many buildings constructed with the use of natural materials, particularly earth and cow dung, have stood the test of time, the construction of buildings out of these materials almost completely disappeared during the last Century. They also used various colours to make their designs stand out.

People took great pride in how they built their huts and would go to town with the artistic designs they incorporated into the structures. Dwellings were often constructed by groups of people so that members of the same family could live in close proximity. The houses were round in shape and often included a lolwapa or courtyard. Most of these houses were built by the people who lived in them. Traditionally, houses were made from readily available local materials such as mud, cow dung and wood, while the roofs were thatched. This meant that no family was ever without shelter, unlike today’s world, where many families are grappling with extortionate mortgage rates or simply can’t afford to buy, instead pouring small fortunes into rented properties. Because of the low cost and availability of materials, congestion was non-existent and families lived together in one homestead. Long ago, people sought safety in numbers and clustered together in walled villages for protection from external threat and cattle raiders. Historically, traditional huts played a societal role. Because of this relaxed philosophy to create shelter, Africans were not enslaved by the acquisition of shelter, as is often the case in the modern world. But the logic was not just in the architecture it was mostly in the communalism and complementary nature of society. Traditional huts were easier to build from a circular foundation with cheap, readily available raw materials: mud, clay and tree branches.

The African hut like – a little background In Gaborone and other major towns, the traditional hut has all but disappeared. The huts, mainly made of mud or clay, with a peaked, thatched roof, is often seen as backward, inferior and primitive in modern 2020. Because of the materials they are built with, they are seen as incompatible with the use of electricity. In recent years, it has fallen prey to modernisation and industrialisation. Sadly, despite their rich history and cultural heritage, the traditional mud hut is on a downward spiral to ‘extinction’. The hallmark of architectural ingenuity, these huts are symbolic of Africa. Travelling from the cities and towns to Botswana’s villages, the landscape changes from the modern high rises made of brick and mortar to one that harks back to the olden times: the art of Botswana’s traditional mud hut.

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