The smell of leather has a way of lingering.
It clings to the hands of the artisan long after the last stitch is made. It settles into workshops and storerooms. It follows a traveller home in a satchel or duffel bag, gathering memories along the way.
For the makers behind MKLA Africa, leather is more than a material. It is a way of preserving stories.
From a workshop in Gaborone, the local brand crafts bags, travel accessories and lifestyle pieces from leather, canvas and traditional textiles. Working with artisans at the LEA Leather Industries Incubator, the brand uses durable, locally sourced materials including leather, canvas, wool felt, and leteisi, ensuring both longevity and cultural authenticity.
The work is deliberate. Measured. Every cut, stitch and fold speaks to a philosophy deeply rooted in botho, the Setswana principle that places respect, dignity and humanity at the centre of relationships.
In a tourism industry often measured by visitor numbers and occupancy rates, African Bush Camps’ partnership with businesses such as MKLA Africa offers a different measure of value. It asks what happens when tourism creates a direct connection between guest and maker.
The brand’s products are now finding their way into some of Botswana’s most remarkable wilderness areas through African Bush Camps’ CURO Shops initiative.
Introduced at Atzaro Okavango and Khwai Leadwood, with plans to expand to the forthcoming Linyanti Legodimo, the shops offer guests something that cannot be found on a game drive or viewed through a pair of binoculars. They offer a glimpse into the lives and talents of the people who call Botswana home.
For African Bush Camps, whose safari experiences are built around conservation, community partnership and low-impact tourism, the idea is that travel should leave a positive footprint beyond wildlife encounters. The CURO Shops were created as spaces where visitors can connect with local makers and carry a piece of Botswana’s creativity with them when they leave.
MKLA Africa feels perfectly at home within that vision.
Its bags are made to travel. Not quickly, but well. The kind of travel that leaves room for stories. A weekend drive across the Kalahari. A flight into the Delta. A journey that becomes part of the object itself.
The company works closely with artisans, including makers connected to Botswana’s leather industry development programmes. Traditional materials sit comfortably alongside contemporary design, producing items that feel both familiar and distinctly local.
Like many handcrafted objects, their value is not immediately obvious.
It reveals itself slowly, in the texture of the leather after years of use, in the wear marks that become a record of journeys taken, and in the knowledge that each piece passed through skilled hands before reaching its owner.
When safari travellers browse the shelves of a CURO Shop after a day exploring the waterways of the Okavango or the floodplains of Khwai, they encounter more than a travel accessory. They encounter a story of craftsmanship, patience and pride.
In a tourism industry often measured by visitor numbers and occupancy rates, African Bush Camps’ partnership with businesses such as MKLA Africa offers a different measure of value. It asks what happens when tourism creates a direct connection between guest and maker.
The answer may be found in something as simple as a leather bag carried home from Botswana. Long after the dust of the safari has settled, it remains. A reminder not only of a place, but of the people whose skill helped define the journey. Founded by Zimbabwean guide Beks Ndlovu, African Bush Camps is a leading luxury safari operator dedicated to authentic, conservation-focused travel. “Our Experiences offer bespoke safaris that celebrate Southern Africa’s diverse landscapes, wildlife, and communities.”
