18 Apr 2016

 To many cattle farmers in the greater part of Kweneng, and to some extent the Kgatleng area, the name of Segola Diswai is sweet music to the ear. For over 30 years, the Letlhakeng born old man has been their saviour, a reference point when they need to save a few thousands Pula.

The 77-year old pensioner is a renowned and reliable traditional water surveyor that some farmers have come even from as far as Maun for his services.

 “I have had clients even from as far as South Africa, all of them coming with the trust that I can do a better job for them than these modern surveyors with modern equipment,” the old man adds with an air of pride.

His feats are the stuff of legend, and when he explains the procedure it sounds like magic. To demonstrate the procedure, he does not need cajoling, much unlike traditional doctors who thrive in secrecy. He is sure that his skill is insulated from copycats because it is a calling.

A brown bag lies a few metres away, basking in the morning sun. Mr Diswai summons one of his sons to bring it. As he opens it, about seven 500 ml water bottles emerge, filled to the brim with nothing but water.

Even as he tries to explain, it is quite difficult to grasp how the bottles work. “These are the bottles I use to locate water underground,” he says as he holds the bottles to the view of all around him.

“I just cluster and search between them and they will indicate water streams that run beneath. I can even locate the confluence of these streams which I call the “Box” because that is the point where your borehole will produce the highest amount of cubic metres,” he says.

Mr Diswai relates that his special ability to locate the ‘box’ is what distinguishes him from other surveyors. He says that it is a pity that his demonstration may not look convincing because his audience will not be able to see what he sees.

“We do not have the same eye, so when I see streams underground people will only see ordinary bottles. Through these bottles, I can even identify which stream has saline water and which one has potable water and then advise my client accordingly,” he says.

He says that he uses white and brown sugar as well as salt to tell the taste of the water. “Ha ke baya sukiri le letswai mo gare ba mabotlolo a nomoro e tswa mo letswaing ha ele gore metsi a letswai. Metsi aa monate o ne ke bona nomoro ya teng mo sukiri ee brown. E tshweu yone e supa metsi aa siameng le ha a se sukiri thata,” he tries to explain in simple terms.

He says that his bottles are able to estimate the depth of the water table. “Of recent the world has become so dry that one now has to drill a depth of between 200 and 300 metres if they want a borehole that produces a high volume of cubic metres, but in the early years, one did not need to drill that deep,” he says.

Even though many may argue that his method is too simplistic to believe, many that he has worked with sing him praises. Mr Adil Kazi, the director of Sky Drillers holds Mr Diswai in high regard.

“That old man is good. We have worked with him a number of times and have drilled quite a number of boreholes that he has surveyed, and not once have we ever hit a blank where he has indicated there is water,” he says.

He says that he is even more reliable than the modern surveyors. “The difference between the modern surveyors and our traditional surveyors is that modern surveyors locate cracks in rocks under the surface. This may just indicate the presence of water and it’s not a guarantee on the feasibility of a drill, but with our traditional surveyors, they will always lead you to a point that will yield high cubic metres of water,” he says.

Mr Kazi’s praise of the old man is not without justification. Narrating one of his notable achievements, Mr Deiwai said he was once requested by a white farmer in South Africa to come and survey water for him.

“How he learned about me I do not know, but this white farmer had a farm in South Arica which he was even on the verge of selling because he had given up hope of ever finding water on it after trying a few times. When I went there, I managed to survey and locate the ‘box’ under a storeroom in the farm, so I ordered him to destroy it.

At first, he seemed reluctant to do so, but after consideration he broke down the storeroom and drilled where I indicated. You should have seen his expression when he hit a sea of water!” he narrates.

With such success, Mr Diswai’s services must cost quite a fortune! “Not really,” he quickly points out and carefully goes around to justify his charge before revealing the actual fee.
“Modern water surveyors charge as much as P15 000 and there is no guarantee that they will locate water.

However, with my services I can guarantee you that you will always hit a jackpot, with only a charge of P4 000,” he says.He however, says that he gets just about two to three clients in a week because he is not the only surveyor around. ENDS