10 May 2018

As you drive along the Maun-Shorobe road, there is a beehive of activities and one thing that will catch your attention are the bundles of firewood packed on the road side waiting to be sold.

Though it might seem to be a labour intensive job for a female, Ms Gometsa Rachata, whose stall is situated at the New Town ward in Maun, depends on it and it has become a linchpin of the local economy.

Prior to the new venture, the vendors had been selling sweets and airtime.

In an interview, Ms Rachata explained that she had been in the business for three years and the profit she made from selling fire wood continues to make ends meet.

The 54-year-old single mother used to sell airtime New Town and after realising that the profit she made was not enough, she switched to selling firewood and she never looked back.

To operate her business, Ms Rachata has obtained a trading license to collect and sell firewood from the Department of Forestry in Maun.

The license fee is P52 per year.

She said she usually collects firewood from Mophane trees, which are in abundance in Maun and the surrounding areas.
“It’s a labour intensive job.

I engage people to go to the forest and cut down dead trees and then chop them into small pieces before we can sell them,” she said.

“Mind you we only take dead wood that has been destroyed by elephants because there are lots of elephants in Shorobe area,” she said, adding that the department does not allow them to cut live tree and if they catch them doing that they will revoke their licenses.

Ms Rachata said most of her customers are tourists who camp in the Okavango Delta.

“I also sell to some Safari companies in Maun,” she explained.

She added that the business of selling firewood is sustainable because the demand from the tourism sector is high.

Ms Rachata also sells to local individuals. She indicated that they make a lot of money during the peak season when tourists visit the country in large numbers.

“The peak season starts from April to August.

During these months we make a lot of killing,” she said.

Ms Rachata said she sells her firewood in bulk.

She said she can make up to P1 000 in one month.

“Sometimes it can be hard but you can never go home hungry with this business,” she said

Ms Rachata is not alone in the business as there are other female youth who are also in the business of selling firewood due to high unemployment rate.

Ms Lebopo Thomas from Maun also sells firewood to make a living.

She explained that she is combining it with airtime and sweets sale.

Ms Thomas, a single mother of two, says firewood selling is sustainable because of the tourists and Safari companies that buy from them.

She said she also engages people to harvest firewood and then chop them into pieces and package them before she can sell them in bundles.

She also explained that most of the time she receives orders from companies.

“A company can order firewood for P200 or P500 and in this way we make more money,” she said. Ends