Date: 02/09/2026
All Rights Reserved by the Author
Imagine a problem affecting an entire community.
Everyone has an opinion.
Everyone is talking.
Now imagine that, instead of arguing through screens and disappearing into separate corners, people actually gather in one place.
They sit down.
They listen.
They speak.
That idea has a long tradition in Botswana.
It is called the kgotla.
A kgotla is a traditional community meeting place and forum where people discuss, deliberate and make decisions on matters affecting their community. It continues to play a role in consultation and information-sharing in Botswana today.
What I find beautiful about the idea is not that everyone always agrees.
They probably don’t.
The important thing is that people come together before the matter is allowed to become someone else’s problem.
There is something wonderfully old-fashioned about sitting under one roof—or sometimes simply gathering in a familiar community space—and talking things through.
And perhaps it isn’t old-fashioned at all.
In a world where we communicate constantly but often listen very little, the kgotla offers a simple reminder:
Sometimes the first step towards understanding is simply to sit down and hear one another properly.
Rajat Chandra Sarmah
Guwahati, Assam, India
Email: rajatchandrasarmah@gmail.com
YouTube: Converse With A Smile
@conversewithasmile
#Botswana #HumanStories #Africa #Culture #Community #ConverseWithASmile
