How we build our home: Creating San huts

For ages, the San community has lived in thatched huts across the vast Kalahari Desert. We typically wander the area until we find a suitable grove of trees to camp, where we then begin building our huts.

We usually wander the area to find a new campground in a suitable grove of trees. Once we decide on a grove, we begin the work of building our huts.

After identifying the site, the San women set up the framework for the wood house, while the men gather the wood.

Women typically begin by spreading grass and foliage over a circular area about two meters wide. Then, they build a dome-like structure using trunks and long branches brought by the men, planting one end of each pole firmly into the ground.

Before setting up the framework of the house, we dig deep pits to stabilize the branches and twigs.

The base is secured with dried grass and plant roots, which binds the entire structure together and ensure its stability.

We gather branches based on their thickness, bundle them together, and secure them in pits to form the base. This creates the rough framework of the house.

The cabin is then thatched with long grass gathered nearby, leaving a space for the entrance. It’s a modest, rustic structure about 2 meters wide and 2 meters tall.

In winter, we build a small bonfire near the entrance to keep warm through the night, unless it’s rainy. On such days, we make the fire by the front door to cook and share our daily conversations.

Since the roof is just a thin layer of thatched grass, ventilation is excellent, making the home comfortable, hot and dry most of the year. When it rains, the thatch is laid thicker and more carefully to prevent leaks.

In other words, the basic hut is little more than a parasol and windbreak. Our true home lies around the fire in front of our shelters.