Malealea is a village in the Mafeteng district, roughly 80km from

Maseru Maseru is the capital and largest city of Lesotho. It is also the capital of the Maseru District. Located on the Caledon River, Maseru lies directly on the Lesotho–South Africa border. Maseru had a population of 330,760 in the 2016 census. The ...

in southern

Lesotho Lesotho ( ), officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a country landlocked country, landlocked as an Enclave and exclave, enclave in South Africa. It is situated in the Maloti Mountains and contains the Thabana Ntlenyana, highest mountains in Sou ...

. Located in the Makhaleng valley, ca. 3 kilometers west of the mouth of Botsoela river. The village can be reached from Matelile over 7 km gravel road. The 2006 census counts 613 inhabitants in "Makhomalong (Malealea)" and "Letlapeng (Malealea)"

History

* Rock paintings show that the area was inhabited by the

San people The San peoples (also Saan), or Bushmen, are members of various Khoe, Tuu, or Kxʼa-speaking indigenous hunter-gatherer cultures that are the first cultures of Southern Africa, and whose territories span Botswana, Namibia, Angola, Zambia, ...

. * Between 1900 and the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the English Mervyn Smith opened a

trading station A trading post, trading station, or trading house, also known as a factory, is an establishment or settlement where goods and services could be traded. Typically the location of the trading post would allow people from one geographic area to tr ...

. * In 1986, the trading station was bought by Mick and Di Jones and gradually transformed into a

lodge Lodge is originally a term for a relatively small building, often associated with a larger one. Lodge or The Lodge may refer to: Buildings and structures Specific * The Lodge (Australia), the official Canberra residence of the Prime Ministe ...

Development

The Malealea Development Trust is a community run non-profit that strives to address the health, educational and environmental challenges faced by the Malealea community. Alongside its work to promote community involvement in tourism, the trust executes various activities and interventions in the priority areas of 1) Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVCs) 2) Health and Well-being 3) Education and Training 4) General Community Development which includes income generation and environmental management.

References

Populated places in Mafeteng District {{Lesotho-geo-stub