08 Oct 2015

An American disability activist, Robert Hensel, once said, ‘putting one foot in front of the other, I have climbed to higher heights reaching beyond my limitations to show my inner strength, I am just a man in a mission to prove that my disability hasn’t won”.

His words will best describe the life of Mr Motshegetsi Thaloganyo, a 28-year-old man living with disabilities in Mahalapye.

He has risen beyond his limitations to start a booming egg production business.

Speaking in an interview recently, Mr Thaloganyo said he always had a passion for farming hence enrolling for a horticulture course at Tlamelong Rehabilitation Centre in Tlokweng.

After studying horticulture, he worked as a garden boy in a garden in Mahalapye for two years before he was assisted through Poverty Eradication Programme to start his backyard garden in October 2012.

‘My backyard garden was the first in Mahalapye and it was officially opened by President Lt Gen. Seretse Khama Ian Khama,’ he said.

He said he approached Mahalapye youth office for funding for his new project and he was funded for egg production business through the Youth Development Fund (YDF) in the same year to the tune of P94 000 but due to problems in acquiring or leasing land his project only started in August 7 this year and he operates from home.

He used the YDF funds to build a poultry house as well as buying layers, layer cages, layer feeds, medication for layers and egg packaging. He currently has 200 layers which lay 150 to 180 eggs per day.

Business, Mr Thaloganyo said, was doing because on a good day, he can sell over 15 dozens of eggs but on a normal day he sells over 10 dozens of eggs,.
Each dozen goes for P15 and half a dozen costs P7.50.

He is yet to supply supermarkets because a requirement of supplying supermarkets with eggs is a sticker and stamp, however Mr Thaloganyo said he is in the process of acquiring his own sticker as he has already engaged someone to design it as such he hopes to have the sticker and stamp soon.

Mr Thaloganyo thanked his mother for enabling his business to run smoothly because she helps to sell the eggs to other customers when he is out delivering orders.

Even though he is yet to get training, he has experience in poultry production having reared Tswana chickens before, nevertheless to ensure that nothing goes wrong he contacts the veterinary office whenever he suspects his layers are not well.

Through his egg production business Mr Thaloganyo said he can now make ends meet, he said he banks most of his daily earnings which usually range between P150 and P200 to ensure that his project grows.

Like every other enterprise, Mr  Thaloganyo’s business has its own challenges the major one being expensive layer feeds, adding that his layers consume a single bag in five days.

Now that his poultry is booming he is in the process of reviving his backyard garden which was crippled by high water bills and pests.

‘Right now I have planted seedlings, by December the vegetables will be ready for sale and I would have achieved my dream of mixed farming. Layers will feed the backyard garden with manure and the backyard garden will feed the layers through sale of vegetables to finance expensive layer feeds,’ he said.

His future plan, he said, is to operate in a big area to utilize his God given talent of mixed farming thus he has already applied for land, he added that there are many government programmes he can benefit from once he has land.  ‘I want to feed this country through farming to prove that disability is not inability,’ he said.

Mr Thaloganyo’s advice to people living with disability is that they must believe in themselves and have confidence that they can achieve anything they want to achieve, he further said they should not shy away from asking for help in government offices because there are so many programmes which can help them.

Furthermore he encouraged young people to utilize government programmes to improve their lives. ENDS