23 Jul 2026

The 56-year-old Tshane entrepreneur, Ms Pelonomi Gabaeme is unlocking the value of Kgalagadi’s indigenous resources through her enterprise TKT’s Best Indigenous Food Preserves.

Through her enterprise, she is transforming locally available indigenous resources into value-added products, including jams, juices and nutrient-rich powders, while preserving Botswana’s food heritage and creating new economic opportunities.

Her product line includes wild Kalahari bitter melon jam and powder, cactus fruit jam and juice, melon jam and powder, mixed fruit jam, morula juice and dried cowpeas leaves also known as morogo wa dinawa.

In an interview with BOPA, Ms Gabaeme said her journey into food processing began in 2011 after her temporary teaching contract at Lehutshelo Junior Secondary School came to an end, leaving her unemployed. 

Having taught Home Economics, she realised that the skills she had acquired in food preparation, preservation and processing could be transformed into a livelihood opportunity. She added that her surroundings further inspired her, as she noticed the abundance of indigenous resources in Kgalagadi including cactus fruits, wild Kalahari bitter melon locally known as kgengwe and melon, which were readily available but had limited commercial use.

 This prompted her to explore ways of adding value to these natural resources by turning them into products such as jams and juices.

Ms Gabaeme stated that her skills were further strengthened through training provided by the National Agricultural Research and Development Institute (NARDI), which equipped her with additional knowledge to improve the quality and production processes of her products.

 When she started the business, she submitted some of her products to NARDI for nutritional analysis to ensure they met the required quality and safety standards.  She added that she deliberately produced preservative-free products without added chemicals, maintaining what she described as natural products made from locally sourced ingredients. “Each product is carefully processed to add value to locally available resources while preserving them, introducing them to modern consumers in new and convenient forms,” she said.

While indigenous fruits remain at the heart of her business, Ms Gabaeme said she also processed selected exotic fruits to diversify her product range. 

Among her creations is orange marmalade, which earned the Grand Champion award at the 2023 National Agricultural Show in Gaborone.

Her melon jam was also recognised as the Overall Champion at the 2025 Kgalagadi North District Show in Tshane, an achievement she described as testament to the quality and growing recognition of her products. 

Ms Gabaeme said the nutritional value of indigenous fruits was one of the driving forces behind her decision to add value to them.

She noted that many of the fruits used in her products were rich in vitamin C and other nutrients, making them valuable additions to everyday diets.

Ms Gabaeme said she marketed her products through a combination of direct sales and exhibitions. She explained that she regularly visits offices across the district to sell her products, while many customers also travel to her home in Tshane to make purchases.

 To expand her market reach, she also showcases her products at events such as the Tshane Show and the Gaborone Consumer Fair, where she had the opportunity to promote Botswana’s indigenous food products to a wider audience. 

She confirmed that she received P21,000 from the Local Enterprise Authority (LEA) through the Chemachema grant programme and P2,500 from Letlhabile initiative. The funding enabled me to purchase essential equipment and utensils to support production and improve the operations, she said.

 One of the challenges she encountered, she said was accessing institutional markets. 

She explained that when she started the business, she noticed that many schools were using imported jams, which motivated her to produce locally made alternatives with the hope of supplying government institutions and contributing to local procurement initiatives.

However, she said this opportunity had remained difficult to access, as the Kgalagadi North District Council informed her that the procurement of jam products was done through tender processes. She noted that as a small-scale enterprise, competing for such tenders had been challenging, resulting in the business mainly relying on individual customers rather than institutional buyers. 

Ms Gabaeme further identified limited market access as one of the challenges affecting her business, citing the district’s small population size and the current economic climate, which had reduced consumers’ purchasing power.

She also highlighted the high cost and limited availability of packaging materials, explaining that she travels to Gaborone to source them, a situation that increases production costs and affects the overall sustainability of the business.

Ms Gabaeme dreams of seeing her products in supermarkets cross the country. She called for stronger support for local enterprises, particularly through opportunities that allow small businesses to compete and grow. 

Beyond building her own brand, she hopes her journey will inspire other women to recognise the value of their skills, embrace entrepreneurship and transform their ideas into sustainable livelihoods. ENDS