Welcome to the homepage of Barotseland.com! Our organisation is dedicated to the land and peoples of the Upper Zambezi Valley in western Zambia. Since independence in November 1964, the heart of this land was known first as Barotse Province and, from 1968, as Western Province. Before 1964, however, Western Province was known as Barotseland, home of the Lozi nation, whose influence spread north from Botswana and Caprivi to the present day border betweeen Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and from south-eastern Angola west to the Kafue. The Lozi nation today comprises over 25 different peoples united by culture and ecosystems.

Barotseland.com aims to provide the widest possible range of access to knowledge and information about Western Zambia and is actively involved in sustainable development projects and programmes that seek to uplift the lives and livelihoods of people in the region whilst caring for the unique biophysical environment. The following is a list of our current diverse interests:

• Climate change, vulnerability assessment and adaptation action - see details of the Lyambai Vulnerability and Adaptation (LYVA) project
• Indigenous knowledge bank - to be located at Nayuma, Limulunga, comprising information and knowledge about the region and its peoples in social, economic and cultural contexts
• The 'Living History of the Lozis Project' - Reproducing a social history of the region and creating local value from history, heritage and culture
• HIV education and creation of value for children affected by this disease
• Conservation of Luyana and Silozi languages and provision of information

We are non-profit and have no political agenda. The Barotseland of old today comprises integral components of the postcolonial states of Zambia, Namibia, and Angola. Visitors are welcome here just as they are in Western province itself! We hope that you enjoy your stay and find what you seek.

Most of the peoples who live in the region use Silozi, formerly known as Sikololo, as their lingua franca. Lozi, meanwhile, was just a name given to the Luyi peoples by Sotho invaders known as the Makololo who crossed the Zambezi (known previously as Lyambai) in the first half of the nineteenth century before their leaders were overthrown in 1864 leaving behind their language and much of their culture.

In general, the region experiences comparatively low levels of human development although this was by no means the case in the past. This is a matter of concern since uneven development is so often a cause of human insecurity. With that in mind, the main mission of this website is to provide unbiased and accurate knowledge and information especially of a cultural and historical nature, to offer explanations of the present and to better enable governments, administrators, NGOs and development analysts as well as traditional authorities to plan for a better future for the region.

Barotseland.com is registered as an organisation in Zambia and maintains an office in Mongu. Lozis in the diaspora and other visitors are invited to use this site as a forum and place of contact, in effect, an on-line meeting room.

Whether you are Lozi yourself, have worked, studied or lived in the region or are just interested in learning more about this fascinating land and its peoples, please take a moment to register your interest by signing the Visitor's Register. We thank you for your interest and look forward to welcoming you back regularly to Barotseland.com and to the Upper Zambezi valley itself, situated in the heart of Africa. Call again soon!