THE IMPACTS OF RESETTLEMENT ON LIVELIHOOD AND SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS AMONG THE CENTRAL KALAHARI SAN

Abstract

The |Gui and ||Gana San were relocated in 1997 from the Central Kalahari Game Reserve by the Botswana government. This paper describes continuities and changes observed among the Central Kalahari San in their transition to post-foraging society under the resettlement program, which was done 20 years after their sedentarization. After initial allotment of fi xed residential plots, some San residents remain while others moved out of the resettlement site, forming small residential groups which are mirrored the spatial distribution pattern before the relocation. As different sites of dwellings formed, several livelihood strategies emerged. The members in and out of the resettlement site move frequently, and exchange goods and services. Such movements and exchanges have enabled utilization of both the welfare benefi ts within the settlement and natural resources from the bush. The complementary relationships between the San families in the two dwelling sites are based on the ties forged by camp co-membership before the relocation.