07 Dec 2015

Ageing affects all humanity. Safe to say, no organism in life will escape ageing. It is a path which will be taken by all, unless someone answers the death call before old age catches up with them.

Ageing slowly reduces the energy to perform certain duties, which often renders an elderly person a liability to the family. Dependency and support from family members are therefore the vivid features of this stage.

However, for Mr Obopilwe Fifing of Molepolole, ageing is not a factor that can prevent anybody from pursuing their dreams. As such, it has never stopped him from doing the things

To him, ageing is an escalation of the number of years and not a stumbling block to body performance. At 73, he is still active and running his nursery business in Molepolole.

The nursery started in 2003, courtesy of the Department of Forestry and Range Resources. Looking at the nursery, which is located at the back of his yard, You may mistake it for chibuku cartons packed together under a net shade.

Instead of using the commonly used black plastic in the nursery for the growth of bud, the Molepolole elder uses chibuku cartons.

He explains that chibuku cartons are easily accessible and cheap as compared to the black plastic usually used at the Department of Forestry and Range Resources.

Interestingly, Mr Fifing did not attend any formal schooling and pursue any course in nursery or related courses.

 However, his nursery business, which specialises in shade, fruit and ornamental trees, is the by-product of the extensive experience of nursery management he gained when he worked for the Kweneng Rural Development Association (KRDA).

“I worked for KRDA as a labourer for 30 years. I learned much about nursery management. Even though I was not literate, I had a zeal to learn many things,” he said.

He also revealed that the nursery business needs perseverance and persistence. He said the soil in Molepolole is not fertile and that adverse weather conditions such as high temperatures and extremely low temperatures during winter can delay germination. BOPA