By Kgotla Molefe
D’Kar: Botswana’s Hidden Cultural Treasure in the Kalahari
To the unsuspecting traveller passing through, it might look like another small settlement - but step inside, and you’ll find a cultural jewel that deserves its place on every Botswana itinerary.
vivid brushstrokes. Each canvas is more than just beautiful - it is symbolic. An eland painted against the desert sky recalls the animal’s spiritual significance in trance dances. Artists such as Coex’ae Bob, Qwaaqqae Kente, and Thamae Setshogo have carried the spirit of D’Kar into international galleries, yet their roots remain here, in this small village. Visitors who walk into the studio are not simply looking at paintings, they are stepping into conversations between the artists and their ancestors. Alongside the art project stands the Kuru Museum, a small but powerful collection of cultural memory. Here, one encounters the everyday tools and objects of San life - bows, digging sticks, animal hides, and ostrich eggshell fragments once used as water containers. The museum offers context to the art: it is not only about expression, but survival, ingenuity, and the endurance of heritage.
Just 40 kilometers northeast of Ghanzi lies D’Kar, a place where the sands of the Kalahari carry centuries of memory, artistry, and resilience. Beloved traditional elder X’gaiga Qomatca (Standing) & Qamcoo Xgaiga (sitting right) sharing a storytelling and fire-making experience with guests as part of the Kuru-Bushman Experience)
Home to the Naro San people, D’Kar represents a vibrant and resilient community striving to preserve their
cultural identity in the modern world. It is a settlement, yes, but more than that - it is a living museum, a classroom of the desert, and a gallery where stories of the past meet the voices of today. At the center of this cultural landscape is the world-renowned Kuru Art Project, founded in 1980s. It is here that artists capture their ancestral stories, the rhythms of the desert, and the spirit of wildlife in
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