07 Jun 2016

From raking, mowing, trimming, planting, digging, mulching and all sorts of other gardening duties, landscapers and grounds keepers do pretty much anything that involves a yard.

Many people use the terms landscaper and grounds keeper interchangeably, but they are not the same thing because technically speaking, a landscaper is someone who creates new landscapes outdoor by planting new flowers, bushes and trees, while a grounds keeper just keeps what is already there looking nice.

A 26 year-old Mr Thapelo Zibane of Block Four in Francistown falls in the latter, a landscaper who told BOPA in an interview he is making a living out of the landscaping trade as not many people were involved in it.

He explained his choice to become one did not just come easy as his parents opposed the idea from the very first beginning, but now they have given up and supporting him as they realised landscaping was his passion.

“After completing my Junior Certificate (JC) and having failed, I could not find a job, so I ventured into making other people’s homes look beautiful. From my early days at school I loved and enjoyed the Agriculture subject,” he noted.

His love was particularly in gardening and tending to landscapes and then he decided to settle for a landscaping business to make a livelihood.

“I can design a big and beautiful garden for any home. I know how to plant trees and know the types that will make any garden exotic,” Mr Zibane said. He said he does not have a car to move him around with his tools, so he normally walks on foot transporting his tools in a wheelbarrow.

When he has to attend to a client outside Francistown, which is when he asks a friend in his neighborhood to drive him.

Some of the tools used, he revealed, include a wheelbarrow, square-mouth, trench and round mouth shovels, a spade, pickaxe, tamper, post-hole digger, rake and a yard brush.

Giving a word of advice, the youthful landscaper urged other youth who want to venture into landscaping like him to first ensure they have a passion for it as it has proven to be a rewarding trade. ENDS