The Economic Wellbeing of the San of the Western, Central, and Eastern Kalahari Regions of Botswana

The San (Bushmen, Basarwa) of the Kalahari Desert and adjacent regions in southern Africa have been studied intensively by anthropologists for over a century. For the past forty years human rights and development work has been carried out in cooperation with San communities in the Republic of Botswana. Using a comparative perspective, we examine the economic wellbeing and livelihood strategies of San living in varying circumstances ranging from freehold farms to a protected area and a communal area with mixed production systems in Botswana. Conclusions are drawn about the importance of using a socioeconomic approach as a way to measure Indigenous wellbeing and as a means of improving public policy involving Indigenous peoples.