By Nkhensani Mthombeni
- Theodorah Mongwe launched Uhlurile Chickens in Tzaneen in 2018 while pregnant, after rejections from the job market forced her hand.
- Through her programme ‘Rivoningo I vavasati’, meaning ‘light is women’, Mongwe now teaches other women in Limpopo to farm for a living.
Theodorah Mongwe has a qualification in occupational health. She spent years sending out applications. The letters that came back said no.
In February 2018, pregnant and watching her household run out of income, she made a decision. She would not wait any longer. She turned to farming, with no background in it.
“Facing the deep responsibility of a mother-to-be, I knew I could not sit and wait for a job market that wasn’t responding,” Mongwe told Scrolla.Africa.
She started Uhlurile Chickens in Tzaneen. She sells eggs, broilers, spinach, tomatoes, beetroot and butternut to hawkers, retailers and locals. She delivers door to door. A year ago she added piggery, starting with a few pigs that are now a growing part of the operation.
Mongwe has since turned what she built into something she passes on. Through her programme called Rivoningo Ra Vavasati, a Xitsonga phrase meaning “light is women”, she teaches other women the skills and techniques of farming so they can feed their families and earn a living.
One of her students is Ntwanano Maunatlala from Dan Village outside Tzaneen. Maunatlala now runs her own poultry operation, selling chickens to locals.
Mongwe’s message to other young graduates sitting with qualifications and no offers is direct.
“You can start by setting up a small garden at home and that way you will never go to bed hungry,” she said.
“Farming has evolved, it is no longer for oldies, but there is agri-engineering and the technological aspect of it, which is more enticing for youngsters.”
Pictured above: Theodorah Mongwe, founder of Uhlurile Chickens, on her farm in Tzaneen, Limpopo.
Image source:Supplied
