- Thobeka Dwane, an 83-year-old from Brown’s Farm, spends her days tending to her backyard vegetable garden, which she calls her “baby.”
- Gardening helps her stay active despite having arthritis, and she sells her homegrown produce to the community.
- She encourages elderly people to start gardening and urges young people to pursue agriculture as a way to combat unemployment and hunger.
Age is nothing but a number, says an 83-year-old Brown’s Farm gogo who has a small vegetable garden in her backyard to keep her busy.
Thobeka Dwane said since she retired as a domestic worker over a decade ago, she has devoted her life to gardening, dubbing her little patch her “baby”.
Some of the vegetables she plants are pumpkins, green peppers, butternuts, spring onions, potatoes and herbs.
“My two daughters are married. I am living with my grandchild here.
“Every morning I wake up at 08:00 and go to the garden. I work until 10:00 and I go back again at 17:00. That is my daily routine.”
Dwane, who is originally from Middledrift (known as Xesi), said she grew up farming, so growing things is nothing new.
She said her aim is to motivate other elderly people to start their gardens, instead of sitting doing nothing.
She described working in the garden as a good exercise.
“I have arthritis, and gardening often involves a little exercise and exertion. I don’t run, but the movement involved in gardening helps me a lot.”
Dwane said she stopped buying vegetables many years ago and she sells much of her produce to the community.
“God gave me hands. I know farming. Why must I buy everything?”
Dwane said that it is time for young people to focus on agriculture. If so, they will never go hungry or be unemployed, she insists.
“I would love to see young people engaging in this activity. There is money here, but you need to love what you are doing,” concluded Dwane.