The Kingdom of Eswatini is a small land-locked country in Southern Africa situated between South Africa and Mozambique. Rooted deeply in tradition, the country is one of the last remaining absolute monarchies in the world, ruled since 1987 by His Majesty King Mswati III. Thought the vast majority of Eswatini's roughly one million people are Christians, traditional Swazi culture is still very much alive in the country. The most well-known celebration of Swazi cultures is the annual Umhlanga or Reed Dance, when young women come from all corners of the country to dance for the king.

Outside of the country's two main cities, Mbabane and Manzini, most Swazis live in traditional stick-and -mud or cement structure homes in the rural areas. On one rural homestead, several generations of families live together, each in a separate building, ensuring that long-established traditions and values are passed from one generation to the next. Because of the slowly fading tradition of polygamy, which is still somewhat present in the rural areas, one homestead may be home to as many as four wives. Most families in the rural areas survive one combination of subsistence farming and remittances from family members living abroad or in the country's cities. The staple crop of most families, which most grow on their homesteads, is maize, which is supplemented with boiled vegetables, gravy, beans or a small portion of meat for most meals.

Despite the developmental challenges, visitors coming to the Kingdom of Eswatini for the first time will be overwhelmed by its beautiful, mountainous scenery and friendly people, two of the country's greatest attributes. The weather, though mild, compared to freezing and scorching temperatures found elsewhere in Africa, varies greatly by season, as well as from one region to the next. At Pasture Valley, there is sometimes frost during the winter months of May to August, whilst temperatures in the summer months of December to February can reach as high as 36 C. The rainy season in the country generally lasts from November to January, though weather patterns are not always predictable.

For more information on the Kingdom of Eswatini's history, politics or culture, you may visit the following web pages: