Bose Bonda: Stories from the edge

When we caught up with filmmaker and storyteller Bose Bonda, he was back home in Maun, Botswana, a gateway to the Okavango Delta and a place he says keeps his creativity grounded. “I was born about 470km from here,” he says. “I came to Maun for high school, and somehow I’ve always found my way back.”
These days, Maun is more than just home; it’s his canvas. From here, Bose tells the kind of stories that live between people and wild places. His camera has followed rangers through flooded grasslands, communities rebuilding after hardship, and filmmakers learning to live closer to the elements. “After COVID, I realised I wanted to tell impactful stories,” he says. “Meaningful stories, the kind that can make someone care about nature, or about each other.”

It wasn’t always this way. Bose trained in film and television, cutting his teeth on fictional drama and short films in the city. But in 2016, something shifted. “The studio life just wasn’t for me,” he admits. “I was drawn back to nature…the silence, the space, the realness of it all.” Living beside the Delta completely changed his perspective. The city gave him a craft, but the wild gave him purpose.

That purpose now drives his work with organisations like Great Plains Foundation, where he films conservation stories in and around Botswana’s protected areas. Recently, he’s been developing a documentary series called On the Edge—a title that feels almost autobiographical. “It’s about people who live and work right at the edge: rangers, safari guides, communities, all connected to the bush,” he explains. “That’s the life I’ve found myself living too.”
Life comes with its fair share of adventure. He laughs as he recalls a recent National Geographic shoot: “A pride of lions came through camp one night and chewed up some of the crew’s shoes and belongings! Another time I felt a shadow over my tent, looked up, and there was an elephant right next to me.”

Recently, for 21 days straight, Bose was part of a team that paddled through the Delta. A tough experience which included being waterlogged, sunburned, and surrounded by thorny terrain. “That’s where my Jim Green 719s proved themselves,” he says. “We went through everything but desert…stones, mud, thorns, you name it. The boots took it all.”
He’d first spotted Jim Greens through his cousin, who was obsessed with the brand’s rugged look. After following them on social media, he decided to try a pair. The 719s quickly became his go-to for fieldwork, while the Moc Toes are reserved for days in town. “Those are too fancy for the bush,” he jokes. “My friends always want them.”

Bose lives on the edge between art and wilderness, between people and the planet, between story and experience. Through it all, he’s grounded (literally) by the boots that carry him there. “You can’t tell real stories about the bush,” he says, “if you’re afraid to get your feet dirty.”

Cheers,
The Jim Green Team