21 Oct 2020

Some academics say the felling of trees is a normal and important part of good woodland management.

Trees and woodlands provide people with valuable timber resources needed to make a wide range of daily products such as a biomass for fuel and energy production.

It is also key to sustaining a good woodland condition.

Woodlands in Botswana are subject to some of the tightest regulations in the world.

All woodland tree felling have to be approved by the range management and forestry department.

Packaging of firewood is associated with big companies but of recent, some individuals joined the informal sector to package firewood.

Along the A1 road, t 5km away from Tonota, one finds the 66-year-old woman of Mabole lands, Ms Patricia Benfield, who found niche in selling packaged fire wood.

Ms Benfield discovered that packaging of fire wood was yielding profit enough to make a living.

“The business has been great to me. I am my own boss, I work when I want and do not have to answer to anybody.  The firewood business has provided me with a low-stress lifestyle and a good living for me and my family,” she said.

Speaking in an interview recently, Ms Benfield said she started packaging and selling firewood post the national lockdown.

She obtained a trading license to collect and sell firewood from the Department of Forestry and Range Resources.

Ms Benfield said she was advised to start the business by a friend, Ms Bokha Onneetse, who insisted that it would be a wise choice for her because it would keep her busy at home while making money to fend for her children.

“I really appreciate my friend as it has shown she has my best interests at heart.  My children do not suffer nor go to bed on an empty stomach because the little I make has made a difference,” she said.

Ms Benfield engaged people to go to the forest and cut down dead trees and then chop them into small pieces, package and assemble them besides the road for sale.

She said the business was doing well and could make P900 in a good week.

She sold to commuters and Gaborone when transport was available to carry the firewood.

Ms Benfield did not only sell firewood, but from the small particles chopped from the firewood, she allowed them to decompose, dry and then packages them to sell to gardeners as manure for flowers.

“The small particles are very good to use as manure for flowers and they help hold water for a while in the flower pots,” she said.

Furthermore, Ms Benfield said she was aware of the advent of COVID-19 pandemic, since she sanitized her customers and ensures that that they had put on their masks.

Ms Benfield dreamt of owning a truck which could load firewood because the donkey cart load was so small.

She also intended employing many Batswana, especially young people and help government fight unemployment.

She however, encouraged women not to shun male dominated jobs because such work brings a lot of revenue in the house. ENDS