20 Nov 2017

Those who harvest grass for thatching at Dibete are raising against the clock to disburse their piled harvest while still in good condition as the rain season has commenced.

While good rains will ensure a good season for them as more grass will grow, the harvested grass on the other hand loses due to rain water.

Challenges of weather are not the only worries of the harvesters at Dibete, competition for the market is also another challenge as it has become intense.

Despite the increasing demand for the grass by businesses, especially in the tourism industry, competition still remains a challenge as the number of harvesters continues to increase.

To contend with market competition challenges, some residents of Dibete have registered a grass harvesters’ cooperative society in an effort to control harvesting of the natural resource and attract potential customers.

However, their challenges are far from over.

In an interview, a representative of Dibete Harvesters Cooperative, Ms Baopedi Dichabeng stated that the community cooperative was established in 2014 with the intention to control harvesting and selling of thatching grass.

The grass is one of the natural resources found in abundance at Dibete and therefore as the harvest season commences, multitudes of individuals and groups temporarily migrate to the village from all corners of the country to harvest grass.

After registering, the Cooperative had since been allocated a plot where a storage facility and other developments were made through Nyeletso Lehuma funding.

Ms Dichabeng said the project was funded to the tune of P800 000.

The shelter was completed in 2016, water and electricity connection are still underway, she added.

To date, the cooperative has registered 44 members.

Ms Dichabeng, who is the cooperative treasurer, was also of the view that the location of the cooperative was a challenge as far as  marketing their harvest was concerned as it was not visible to potential customers along the A1 road, which passes on the eastern side of the village.

“Our cooperative structure where the grass is stored is located on the far western part of the village and therefore it takes a lot of effort to market our product,” she added.

She however added that efforts were being made to direct customers such as erection of bill boards and other signs.

The cooperative also takes advantage of community forums, media platforms and any other gatherings like district shows to identify and attract potential customers.

Besides efforts made to market the grass, Ms Dichabeng said business was moving at a snails pace as grass harvested during the 2016 season was still piled up in their warehouse.

“We are struggling as the grass piled during the just ended season is still in the open and will be destroyed by the rain as there is no room in our storage facility, she added.

Ms Dichabeng also added that the Cooperative was faced with stiff competition from individual grass harvesters, adding that individuals strategically pile their grass along the A1 road and as such offer easy access to buyers for their product.

She said the cooperative did not have any control over individual harvesters.

“Once they have been issued with permits to harvest and sell grass by the Department of Forestry and Range Resources, we do not have the power to control them,” she said.

She is aware that every Motswana has a right to benefit from natural resources such as thatching grass found in their location, but said it would be beneficial for the cooperative to be given exclusive rights to control harvesting of the grass.

All the harvesters must register with the cooperative and pay a fee, she said, adding that the move  would also help in controlling prices.

Ms Dichabeng said currently individual grass harvesters who display their harvest along the A1 sell at low prices. She said some companies in the tourism industry buy permits and engage people to harvest for them in an effort to cut costs of buying from the cooperative.

She added that the cooperative was as well in the process of securing a spot along the A1 road to display and market their harvest.

Ms Dichabeng also appealed to grass harvesters in Dibete to join the cooperative to help it grow and control harvesting of a natural resource that has a potential of growing households and individual livelihoods and even diversifying the economy of the village. ENDS