This paper describes the importance of rural-urban
links for many of the inhabitants of Botswana’s cities. This is
described in more detail for Old Naledi, a low-cost, self help settlement
in Botswana’s capital, Gaborone. A third of all households
there own cattle, half retain land in the village from which
they come and the proportion of households with such rural assets
does not decline with people’s length of stay in the city.
These rural assets are valued both in monetary and social terms
and serve as a valuable safety net for households with low incomes
and uncertain livelihood prospects within the city.