What is "mabolwe"

Mabolwe is a village in Central District of Botswana. The village is located in the eastern tip of Botswana, close to the border with Zimbabwe, and it has a primary school. The population was 735 in 2001 census. Mabolwe village may appear to be hardly noticeable to people from other areas who enjoy the privilege of 'being original' than other areas of the country and along the A1 road enjoy.But one thing that most Batswana miss to realise is that Mabolwe area has equal opportunities to also become a tourism destination like the northern part of Botswana. It has an abundance of wildlife, wonderful ancestral hills, unique appetizing trees and is home to the much-fancied colophospermum mopane which is a main source of the mopane worm, the caterpillar of the moth Imbrasia belina.The caterpillars are rich in protein and are eaten by people, and the sale of roasted or dried mopane worms can contribute significantly to rural economies. It looks a little well off economically as evidenced by well constructed homesteads and domestic activities here and there. In 2008 the government of Botswana found it vital to approve a border Post in Mabolwe Mmamabaka which links both Botswana and Zimbabwe after a long time request from Mabolwe villagers. The construction of the project has already started but the whole process is still pending since necessary infrastructure and personnel should be provided before the border could be opened to the public. Another reason that could delay its operations, according to the former assistant Minister of Finance and Development Planning Mr Samson Guma Moyo, was the political turmoil in Zimbabwe. He said what Botswana could do in the meantime was to continue with the preparations for the opening of the border on her side. He noted that the road from Mabolwe to the border needed to be improved, which would cost a lot of money. Mr Guma also said cost of building the bridge across the Shashe River into Zimbabwe was extremely high. Had it been the initiation progressed as it was meant to, this would have highly benefited the village especially in terms of development as well as employment.