08 Dec 2014

Kgakana Borotho, is one of the few people who believe that life gets better with time. 

The  82-year-old woman, originally from Kokorega, one of the small villages surrounding Tonota, is doing what most of her peers would not dare do. 

Borotho, who  resides in Tonota, has taken it upon herself not to depend on other people for a living and uses her skill of weaving baskets, which she acquired from her late mother to earn a living. She has been doing this since she was young and at this point in her life, she believes she has attained expertise level. 

Borotho, who is from the Basarwa tribe, said some of the gathering of the resources and weaving comes naturally to her as it was instilled in her at a young age. She mentioned that she uses bark from mogwana trees to weave the baskets and also uses reed and strings from maize meal bags.

“I have two grown up kids who would be able to support me in my old age, but I strongly believe that I should also use my talent to earn a living.  I cannot depend on my kids for everything,” she said.

The granny, who lives with one of her children, Kelebogile aged 34, said she sells her products for prices ranging from P20 to P100.  “At this point in time, a lot of people in Tonota know me so I do not walk around a lot because they come to my house to buy these products,” she said.

She takes only a day to weave a large basket provided that the material required is available and for a small basket, it only takes a few hours. 

Furthermore, the passion she has for what she does is what drives her and some of the challenges she sometimes encounters include customers who buy her work on credit but take long to pay. Borotho strongly believes she can do more and she is currently teaching other women who are interested in weaving. 

She said people should not depend on government for everything and she believes that each and every person has been presented with a certain gift, which they can use to earn a living. 

“If you did not go far with school, it should not mean the end of life, you can find something to do.  At my age I still have the energy to weave because it is my passion. Passion should be the driving element when doing this kind of work,” she said.

Borotho said the good part about her work is that she does not have to buy any of the resources because most of the materials are from the forest. “I sometimes take some days off to go and harvest these materials,” she said. 

She has observed that people do not necessarily buy her products for usage but for decoration. ENDS