December Rains Reignite Hope For Phane Collectors
Lebogang Baingapi | Monday January 16, 2017 15:58
It is common for them to relocate to their bush camps, beginning of December, for at least a month and a half to collect phane and sell it for survival. The recent rains, which fell between Christmas and New Year raised their hopes to continue the hustle. Some residents of Bobonong were seen with loads of tins, plastics and blankets leaving their comfortable homes to camping sites mostly between Molalatau and Mathathane. Though the place is considered dangerous after an elephant was spotted a few years ago, they are defiant.
Phane is mostly found in the central part of Botswana and it is highly vendible across the country and Babirwa, just like any other tribe in the central, maximise the festive holidays to sell to the visitors and home comers. Oratile Mokoba is a regular at a camp near Semolale and this time around she has relocated with her three school going children to collect phane. After the rains fell, just before New Year, Mokoba looked no further and proceeded to the camp. She had in mind the P15,000 she made from sale of the same worm between Christmas and New Year a year before. “This year, it is going to be tough but we are hopeful to get something to buy our kids school uniform in January. There is more to get from phane and we are grateful for the natural resource,” she said.
So excited is also Mmabatho Sebudubudu who would rather not attend dikhwaere to go and collect phane with her neighbours and relatives. The 33-year-old said it was relieve from Ipelegeng as she makes better income than the government relief programme.
“I was a bit hopeless at the beginning of December and wondering how life will look like in January without our famous worm but now the future looks bright on our side,” she confessed.
Though Sebudubudu is a farmer, she has watched mophane worm upgrade her and her parent’s lives for ages. Due to the outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease in their area, livestock rearing is not as profitable as desired and they are forced to look for other avenues that can sustain the economy of Bobirwa. Men are not spared from the exercise. A 40-year-old man who only wanted to be referred as Bisto is also in the business of fetching water and selling it to the campers. He said he used to camp and gather the same worm for sale but saw another business opportunity to sell water at the camp.
Batswana remain hopeful even though the government has put in place measures to control the collection of phane by acquiring a permit. Though they are reluctant to reveal whether they have permits to perform such an excise, they were quick to assure that they are not in any way breaking the law.