National Geographic Society’s Impact Story Lab Releases Short Film, ‘Mokoro wa Okavango’

AUGUST 27, 2024 – Today, the National Geographic Society’s Impact Story Lab released Mokoro wa Okavango, a 15-minute short film, that explores the origins of the mokoro (a traditional dugout canoe), and how it has become a symbol of resilience, ingenuity and forward motion for the people of the Okavango Delta. Mokoro wa Okavango (which translates to “canoe of the Okavango” in the Setswana language) contains unseen footage from the award-winning 2023 film, Nkashi: Race for the Okavango, and was created in close collaboration with the same team of Batswana filmmakers.

“The mokoro serves as a reminder that everyone is connected to their environment as well as their ancestors who came before them,” said Gaekgone Lesego “Ms. Gee,” award-winning Motswana artist and songwriter, and narrator of the film.

For the National Geographic Okavango Wilderness Project team, featured in the film, the mokoro — and polers’ intricate knowledge of the river system — has been critical to its work to protect and preserve the greater Okavango Basin.

Traditionally, mekoro have been carved whole from the trunks of sausage trees (Kigelia africana). The film spotlights Ngoma Ketshwaile, who is preserving the ancient mokoro making techniques he learned from his uncle — from meticulously searching for the right tree, to carving and shaping the wood.

Over time, however, the process of making mekoro has evolved.

In the film, National Geographic Explorers Gobonomang “GB” Kgetho (protagonist of Nkashi: Race for the Okavango), Steve Boyes and Tumeletso “Water” Setlabosha also introduce modernized, sustainable ways of making mekoro, including fiberglass and recycled plastic. They show us that while the material may change, the feeling of placing a mokoro into the water for the first time carries on through generations.

Learn more about the National Geographic Okavango Wilderness Project and the Impact Story Lab:

• https://www.nationalgeographic.org/society/our-programs/okavango/
• https://natgeo.org/impactstorylab

Footage from Mokoro wa Okavango was collected during the filming of Nkashi: Race for the Okavango, which was made possible by the Okavango Eternal partnership. The five-year partnership between National Geographic and De Beers aims to help protect the source waters of the Okavango Delta and the lives and livelihoods they support. More details of the Okavango Eternal partnership are available at www.nationalgeographic.com/okavango-eternal and https://www.debeers.com/en-us/okavangoeternal.html