Makaleng is a village in the

North-East The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...

district of

Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label=Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalahar ...

, roughly 60 km from

Francistown Francistown is the second largest city in Botswana, with a population of about 103,417 and 147,122 inhabitants for its agglomeration at the 2022 census. and often described as the "''Capital of the North''" or as the natives would have it “''T ...

. The two major ethnic groups in Makaleng are the Bakalang and the Bakhurutshe. According to Botswana's 2011 census, Makaleng had a population of 1117, in 297 households. Statistics Botswana projected that Makaleng's population would have grown to 1488 by 2020, with 43,9% of the population male and 56,1% female. Makaleng has a small clinic which also serves as a supplies centre for surrounding villages, including

Sechele Sechele I a Motswasele "Rra Mokonopi" (1812–1892), also known as Setshele, was the ruler of the Kwêna people of Botswana. He was converted to Christianity by David Livingstone and in his role as ruler served as a missionary among his own ...

, Mambo, Masingwaneng,

Toteng Toteng is a village in the north west of Botswana, Ngamiland. The town is the location of the oldest "directly dated evidence of cattle in southern Africa". Nearby towns are Sehitwa and Bobideng to the west, Tsau and Gumare to the north and ...

and Matenge. The village has a preschool, a

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

and a community junior school, which admits students from the aforementioned villages. Makaleng inhabitants are mostly

subsistence farmers Subsistence agriculture occurs when farmers grow food crops to meet the needs of themselves and their families on smallholdings. Subsistence agriculturalists target farm output for survival and for mostly local requirements, with little or no su ...

. The village has several

tuck shop A tuck shop is a small retailer located either within or close-to the grounds of a school, hospital, apartment complex, or other similar facility. In traditional British usage, tuck shops are associated chiefly with the sale of confectionery, swe ...

s, a fresh produce store and a night club called 'if not y not'. There is also a kgotla, where all village meetings are conducted and a drinking spot called Bakhurutshe, owned by the late local

councillor A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...

and banker Kopano Cobra Chingapani's family.

References

Villages in Botswana {{Botswana-geo-stub