ABSTRACT
In 1983 a survey was made of all thirty-five traders who collected firewood from the Kweneng district for sale in Gaborone. All were middle-aged men, most had virtually no schooling, and only four lived in the city. Nearly two-thirds (twenty-one) had been in the trade for less than three years and another eight for between four and seven years. About 60 per cent had resorted to firewood selling because they could not find employment: twenty-two had previously worked in the South African mines but had lost their jobs, and ten had been farmers. The second reason for entering the trade was low farm income due to the prolonged drought. Nearly all the thirty-one rural-based traders continued to farm but could not depend on this alone for their livelihoods. Firewood trading was a part-time, second-best choice.
