13 Oct 2026

Unified by a common goal of cultural heritage preservation and forging some livelihood, a group of skilful crafts women and men in Etsha 6 in the Okavango District have founded a society, the Okavango Basket Society (OBS).

Formed in 2022, OBS exists primarily to help ensure that the unique basket weaving and wood carving legacy peculiar to the Okavango District remains intact; safe from adulteration and extinction.

The society is home to 60 members who comprise men and women aged from 40 years.

On the right as one enters Etsha 6, a cultural home constructed using reeds beckons, and it is within its enclosures that all the magic happens. On a daily basis, members gather in this reed structured courtyard in one spirit, to hone their skills by making various basket weaving and wood carving products.

In an interview, a member of OBS, 46-year-old Yatushana Ruviro said the society was formed by a group of craftspeople to revive and uphold cultural heritage and to promote and increase marketing avenues for their products for members to have optimal benefit.

It was officially registered in 2025 after a rather lengthy process.

“We initially worked by making products for some company. However, one day in 2022 we recollected that though we possess skills, the benefits we reap are minimal, hence the idea to group ourselves and be independent was birthed,” she said. 

She said it is easier to directly market their products as a group and improve sales to be shared among members. It also affords them the space to refine their unique skills by assisting one another, thereby improving on the quality and quantity of their artefacts.

“Basket weaving is not an easy process; we travel about 60 kilometres to get materials required like palm leaves from the river and some tree parts from trees like motlhakola, motsentsela and mokokoti used to dye the palm leaves to acquire brown, black and orange colours,” Ruviro said.“The basket designs are influenced by our environment. Some are from existing objects while others are imaginary. For instance, a black and white colour combination can depict day and night or a zebra’s face,” she elaborated. 

Ruviro said most of their customers are walk-ins, mainly locals, and that international tourists patronise them seasonally during peak tourism seasons.

Further, she highlighted that OBS currently has a partnership with Ruth and Jerry Company who operate Motswiri Camp. The partnership enjoins the camp to put aside a certain percentage from tourists’ payments for OBS.

In line with its core mandate of helping to preserve culture, the society allows school visits for students to learn the crafts and embrace culture as a whole.

Ruviro reminisced that she herself learnt the craft from her mother when she was aged 12 and has perfected her skill over time. As part of efforts to ensure cultural preservation and continuity, all OBS members have passed the same craft skills to their children, Ruviro said. 

Membership to the society is open to people from across the district and from any part of the country regardless of ethnicity or background. ENDS