15 Apr 2014

Weeds are bothersome. They suck the life out of crops and leave people destitute.

The impact is greater if you are ploughing for commercial purposes as weeds can destroy thousands’ worth of crops.

But suffocating crops is not the only specialised area for weeds: in the home there are thousands of star-shaped thorns that terrorise your children and the weeds’ cousins that cling to your clothes and make your yard look like a forest. So nothing good can come out of weeds? Wrong.

Ask Mrs Seotlogeleng Ntau of Tsabong how that is possible and she provides the answer in very practical way, not thought by many. The 73 year does not remove weeds from her field and yard, to burn the plants.

Instead she turns the weeds into feed for her small stock.

It all started three years back. Pushed by loneliness and idleness she took to thinking much about how she could beat the pair.

One day while walking in her yard, she was struck by the beauty of blossoming weeds that carpeted her neighbour’s yard.

Suddenly it occurred to her that everything in the universe was created purposefully by God, even the unwanted weeds.

She decided right there and then that weeds were useful in some way not known to everyone.

As she wondered what good the weeds could provide, she remembered that small stock fed on weeds during drought periods.

The idea hit her like a thunderbolt and she would not procrastinate: she would make feed for small-stock from the weeds.

So, she got to work, removing the weeds from her neighbour’s yard, leaving it desirably clean.

She let the pile of weeds dry in the sun for a few days.

Then she put the dried weeds in 50kg sacks and pounded them by on the sacks.

While the product was crushed weeds, only mature animals could feed on them.

To refine the weeds, Mrs Ntau took her wire mesh chair and sieved the feed to separate thorns from weeds.

The process enhanced the feed’s smoothness as it got rid of thorns that tend to cause sore gums to lambs.

Satisfisfied with the smoothness of the feed, she added salt.

The result after she fed the product to her small-stock for a few days could only be described as astounding.

The animals gained weight and looked a whole lot healthier.

Eureka! she had discovered a miracle out of a curse.

Greatly inspired she decided to make the experiment a full-time undertaking, which like the initial weeds that deposited the idea into her soul, blossomed.

And come see Mrs Ntau’s small-stock in a drought month and you will be as wowed as are her neighbours.

Those that do can be sure to get a number of other benefits, among them good health, what with all the jumping on the sacks to break the weeds!

There are always challenges to any project. In Ntau’s case she wishes she could get dust masks.

The process of pounding the weeds creates a lot of dust that causes her nasal congestion and respiratory problems.

Then there is the problem of thorns. She has tried using platics bags but they are no match for the thorns.

Lack of a mill and a proper sieve are also major culprits that slow down her business.

She hopes to one day find someone to lift her from where she is for her to be able to do full production.

Despite the many challenges Mrs Ntau is determined to continue with her project and looks forward to owning a stock feed manufacturing company.

Her piece of advice to young people is that they should stop idling.

Necessity, she says, is the mother of invention, and youth should come up with strategies of overcoming hardship. ENDS