NONTANDO NGXUMESHE – MAKING CLEAN PIGS FLY
LANDBOU
1 .
NONTANDO NGXUMESHE – MAKING CLEAN PIGS FLY
Nelson Mandela famously opined : “ I learned that courage was not the absence of fear , but the triumph over it . The brave [ person ] is not [ the one ] who does not feel fear , but [ the one ] who conquers that fear .” Wisdom for lesser mortals to live by . But what about those lesser mortals who bravely enter that unpredictable world of farming with little or no capital and experience , and no land to call their own , therefore no collateral to gain access to financing in order to expand and make progress ? How much courage is needed to triumph over that fear of failure and bankruptcy ?
This is where Nontando Anela Ngxumeshe , a small-scale pig farmer near Porterville in the Western Cape , takes centre stage . Not to answer the above question verbally , but to show by example how one woman is conquering her fear .
Nontando : “ I grew up in the Eastern Cape . My family ’ s livelihood depended solely on farming . From a young age , I was involved as a shepherd girl .”
In Nontando ’ s world , farming was traditionally the preserve of men .
“ But it was different in my case . In my family , it was for everyone . However , I came to the Cape to
1 . Nontando Anela Ngxumeshe hails from the Eastern Cape where she was introduced to farming at a young age .
37 MARKtoe ! Mei 2023