20 May 2026

Kopong-based, Kika le Motshe, founder, Mr Tshenolo Mothebeng, has spoken highly about the health benefits of traditional fibre rich foods. Speaking to BOPA on the sidelines of the Gaborone Bonnington South Constitutency Lifestyle and Culinary Medicine Health and Wellness Expo, Mr Mothebeng said pounded maize, sorghum and millet provided the body with the fibre needed by the gut while also curbing non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Mr Mothebeng said traditionally, food was pounded to separate the chaff from the grain, but nothing went to waste, resulting in healthy lives and less NCDs.Gape golo mo go rotloetsa botsogo. Go thuga, go setla, ke karolo nngwe ya go itshidila mmele; loosely translated, Pounding is a body exercise that aids good health. He said the company produced at a small scale of about 20kg of samp and sorghum on a normal working day. "I am not competing with the market. I am actually competitive in terms of quality production as I retain the bran needed by the body, whereas the regular market is for processed food without fibre. I am not profit oriented because I am looking at the health of Batswana"Mr Mothebeng detailed. He said most of his clients were elderly people who lived with NCDs especially those with diabetes. He said as the expo was his debut and hoped to receive more customers because those who visited the his stall showed interest in his products. Meanwhile, nutrition specialist, Dr Galase Ramolefhe-Mutunwa, of Celebrate Heritage Nutrition Clinic in Gaborone explained that the clinic was open to all, be it referral or walk-ins and did house calls as well. "You can actually call us to come to your house. We teach self-care. The most important thing is to empower an individual to take care of themselves,"she explained. Dr Ramolefhe-Mutunwa said they empowered people with knowledge to understand the package information and how to use it to improve their lifestyle. She also indicated that Celebrate Heritage Nutrition meant that they endorsed people feeding on what the environment offered thereby, and also guiding on what the market offered that could be worth one’s nutrition. "It is my dream to see people knowledgeable about their nutrition. Children in the rural areas eat greens which urban children do not. We were raised a certain way. I wonder if we feel we missed out on something and we are overdoing things in the name of, we love our children. Imagine if the child was to grow up seeing only vegetables and fruits in the house. That is what they would eat. They look up to us," she advised. She said they would be teaching mindful eating, where dinner time was designated for eating because passive eating might cause overeating that resulted in overweight, diabetes because 'we are not mindful at the dinner table. Dr Ramolefhe-Mutunwa said there was a need to discipline children, to reduce their chances of getting lifestyle diseases at a young age. She also said lifestyles affected children since at times mothers were forced to get back to work soon after giving birth. This she said parents resort to giving their babies formula that could have negative effects on the children. Member of Parliament for Gaborone Bonnington South and Vice President Ndaba Gaolathe said the constituency aspired to achieve greatness. No adult nor child in this constituency should be without education. Education to aspire and to live a healthy life. It is pleasant to see the people of this constituency gathered to receive education on their own health and welfare,” he said. Mr Gaolathe said the Expo had attracted medical practitioners in the form of doctors, to guide and teach on health, culinary medicine and lifestyle.ENDS