Follows the triumphs and challenges of three mokoro (dugout canoe) polers, Gobonamang “GB” Kgetho, Tjadza “Pretty” Tapologo, and Nkeletsang “Ralf” Moshupa, who are competing in the annual Nkashi Classic, a time-trial mokoro race that since 2018 has attracted people from all over the Okavango Delta – one of the most unique wetlands in the world. As they prepare for race day, they also contend with grief, the local impacts of climate change, and the urgency of preserving the tradition of the mokoro and nkashi (pole) for the next generation.

Created by the National Geographic Society’s Impact Story Lab in close collaboration with a team of Batswana filmmakers and in the local language of Setswana, Nkashi: Race for the Okavango is about more than a race to become the Okavango Delta’s fastest poler; it’s also a race to preserve cultural traditions and the waters that sustain the Okavango Delta.