PARTIALLY BLIND FARMER HONOURED AT THE DRDAR WOMEN ENTREPRENEUR AWARDS
When a bunch of bloodthirsty thugs broke into Kholisa Dabula’s home in Cape Town in 2020,
assaulted her and her family and even poured substances into her eyes in an effort to make her
blind, she never knew that three years later she would still be alive and carrying a R15 000 cheque
in her hands.
Dabula,41, from Mdlandlovu Village in Qumbu, Mhlontlo Municipality was among a dozen women
who competed in the Eastern Cape Department of Rural Development and Agrarian Reform’s OR
Tambo District Women Entrepreneur Awards (WEA). The awards are meant to recognise women
who are involved in various capacities in the agricultural sector.
The Department awards women from subsistence farming to commercial farming category.
Dabula said she had lost all hope when she became partially blind after the attack. A bus driver then
in Cape Town, Dabula had to abruptly end her stay in the Western Cape and return home to the
Eastern Cape to start over.
Despite being partially blind, Dabula did not let her sudden disability stand in her way, she started
planting spinach in her backyard and would sell when she had surplus. “I decided to ask the local
chief for more land because I wanted to plant more vegetables. He gave me around two hectares.
On that piece of land I planted cabbage, spinach and I started selling those to the local community,
hawkers and schools. When people in the community hold ceremonies I would freely give them,”
said Dabula.
She said with her winnings, she is going to expand her farming enterprise to poultry. “I will buy
broilers and expand the vegetable side of the business as well,” she added.
Also worth noting, trailblazing young farmer Siphesihle Kwetana who has won six agricultural
awards also made off with R30 000 for Top Producer in the Commercial Category.
Kwetana runs an agricultural enterprise in Mthatha where she has a piggery, poultry, vegetables
and also sells seedlings. Kwetana, 28, sells her produce at food retail stores like Spar and Pick ‘n
Pay. The confident young farmer said she is looking forward to competing in the provincial
competition, which will be held in August.
King Sabata Dalindyebo Municipality’s mayoral committee member Nombulelo Sibeko decried the
rampant selling of land for residential purposes instead of agriculture. Addressing the farmers
yesterday, Sibeko said available land should be used for farming.
KSD Municipality is one of the local authorities that are worst affected by land grabs.
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