This paper seeks to explore resilience among communities threatened by rapid
urbanisation. While previous studies have identified housing transformation through construction
of outbuildings and house extensions as a popular survival strategy among the urban poor, this
paper focuses on the commoditisation and transformation of traditional homesteads into rental
accommodation in the peri-urban village of Tlokweng. It is based on qualitative data collected
largely through in-depth interviews with landlords and tenants residing in traditional compounds
within the settlement. Interviewees’ responses indicate that housing transformations in Tlokweng
have primarily been driven by the village’s proximity to the city of Gaborone, land and housing
shortages in the city and diminishing opportunities for subsistence livelihoods within the village. It
concludes by noting the role played by the transformation in alleviating shortages for rental
housing, providing alternative sources of income and decreasing urban sprawl.