LESOTHO

Lesotho a small, landlocked, mountainous country located in southern Africa. See the gallery.

Lesotho by Lou Jones

Children playing in Lesotho, showing the rugged mountains

lesotho hills

lesotho map

lesotho in South AfricaLesotho is
entirely
contained
inside
of South Africa
which is its
main trading
partner.

lesotho hills green

The flag of Lesotho features a black mokorotlo (a Basotho hat) in the center.

plants water tshirt diamond

Important exports from Lesotho include crops, garments, diamonds, and water itself.

lesotho coat of arms

The motto of Lesotho, "Khotso, Pula, Nala"
means "Peace, Rain, Prosperity".

squiggles
Because of its natural abundance water is known as "white gold".

lesotho populationThe population of Lesotho shows a constant increase over time.

Lesotho Population

The roughly 2 million people of Lesotho are divided among Sotho, Zulu, and other ethnic groups.

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Lesotho moneyThe Lesotho Loti is equal in value to the South African Rand.

Lesotho workers in SA

Lesotho is strongly connected to South Africa in many ways.

reader
Literacy in Lesotho

85% of women and 68% of men are literate. Lesotho holds one of the highest literacy rates in Africa; Lesotho invests over 12% of its GDP in education.

shapes

Maseru

Maseru has a population of 228,000+ people & the majority of citizens are in & around it. On this hill overlooking the city you can see its density, it is entirely landlocked. The mountains in the background are South Africa.

School Yard

A major measure of a country's personality is education. The panAFRICAproject has been concentrating on all aspects. In Lesotho, primary & secondary school children wear uniforms. This is outside in the school yard in Malea Lea.

Ts'senku

It was fall & leaves on the few trees left in Lesotho are turning. The herd boys (shepherds) rode down out of the mountains on their donkeys & buy supplies, corn meal in this case, to eat.

Ngaka

We have photographed rural clinics, large hospitals & pharmacies all over Africa but this was the first opportunity to visit a traditional doctor. In Lesotho, they are called Ngaka & are a combination of religion, herbs & spiritualism. This doctor had her "patient", son & daughter in the consultation.

friday is a holiday
 
up in the mountains the sun emits cold clear weather
surrounding on all sides their colors predict every new minute
the traditional blankets everyone wears show subtle differences that designate each clan
the nation is on foot
walking behind sheep & goats 
on the opposite side of the african sun
but at night the herd boys & cattle running across the road are fleeing ghosts 
that cast only shadows in the oncoming headlights
only partial magic after daylight disappears
wherever there is electricity people are gathered
silhouetted by the green commercial florescents
spilling onto the road
beneath the local dark
its a three day weekend
 
dateline: nazareth lesotho

Lesotho Gallery

Following is our gallery ofLesotho images. Click any to see it larger; then use arrows to see next images. You may SAVE images for academic use simply by right-clicking the images. Contact us for access to full resolution images and terms for publishing.