12 Jun 2018

Old age has not stopped Mr Ronald Setlhare from making a living and carrying out his responsibilities as a husband and father of six.

The 61-year-old man of Tonota said in an interview that he was forced to retire due to semi-deafness.

This, however, did not mean the end of the world as one day when relaxing under a tree, he started to develop love for them.

He said he got interested in planting trees as it gave him a sense of relaxation, and he derived pleasure from having tea with his friends under his trees in his yard.

Mr Setlhare, whose surname literally means tree, said his passion grew with time and that in 2016, he decided to make business out of his hobby of planting trees.

He started importing trees from South Africa, different species of palm trees, juranthe and aloe vera because in Botswana there were no tree farms.The tree lover noted that there were vast tree farms in South Africa, and that they were passionate about tree farming, which required a lot of labour and patience.

He reasoned that in Botswana shortage of land and water were the factors that prevented people from venturing into tree farming or having orchards.

“For palm trees to grow well, they need to be planted near perennial rivers as they require a lot of water,” he said. 

In the North East District, he noted that there were only a few perennial rivers, and that it was a challenge.

He expressed disappointment in the business side of tree farming because he does not make much profit.But this did not discourage him from venturing into the business and he makes a bit of a profit ranging between P3 000 to P4 000 a month.

Mr Setlhare explained that his business was not only limited to selling trees, but also involved landscaping for lodges and individuals.

He revealed that he had already done a few landscaping projects around the country in some lodges, and encouraged people not to be limited by age to pursue their dreams, saying “hard work and determination can make people achieve their goals and dreams.” ENDS