Chabana Farms Director, Mavis NduchwaChabana sleeps
She fought gallantly for sustainable communities and gender empowerment
Mavis Rewana Nduchwa- Chabana was not only an inspirational ray of sunshine but also a shrewd businessperson who made commendable strides in the agriculture sector.
The 37- year- old Francistown- born and raised mother, wife as well as agriculture entrepreneur, and community social development mobiliser made her untimely spiritual transition recently, and news of her passing was shockingly heart- wrenching for those who had met or worked with her.
Nduchwa- Chabana was undoubtedly one of the most successful female farmers in Botswana. She was the director of agribusiness Chabana Farms and Chabana Investments, which owns a social enterprise, Kalahari Honey.
I had the privilege to engage her not too long ago, as I had previously done, tapping into her reservoir of knowledge and insight, and in our interview, she pointed out that when she started Chabana, she wanted to develop “organic symbiosis” to build sustainable communities.
Chabana Farms was established to help sustain Botswana communities, Nduchwa- Chabana reiterated. Its focus is on manufacturing and processing various foods using locally- grown crops, including a seeds production enterprise, which she said she started due to the demand yet lack of affordable quality locally- grown crops.
Kalahari Honey was established to bolster the honey sector, empower women in communities around Botswana to go into beekeeping, and as a tool to mitigate human and wildlife ( elephant) conflict by training and supplying rural farmers with beehives.
“When I started Kalahari Honey, my primary focus was resolving the conflict between elephants and the farmers,” she said.
She subsequently established a honey incubator and aggregator and Kalahari Vocational College.
Nduchwa- Chabana was passionate about community development and inculcating a culture of self- reliance among Botswana communities.
“Poverty will always be with us Batswana until we learn to use our hands and knowledge to feed ourselves.
We should use the resources in our midst to change our fortunes. Farming is a sustainable business model that would benefit future generations,” she said. Nduchwa- Chabana boasted an impressively rich portfolio and wealth of experience and knowledge. The farming industry in Botswana has lost a giant – a woman who held her fort regardless of the challenges she faced and always fought for the sustenance of her ventures, and continuously tapped into opportunities in the farming value chain. Nduchwa- Chabana was particularly passionate about empowering women in Botswana communities, particularly those in rural and semirural areas.
“It is important to close the gender gap in farming and ensure that women also reap the rewards of their hard work.
“Women do a bulk of the work but fall in the low- income bracket; it would be great for women to own farms, be decision- makers and earn more”.
Nduchwa- Chabana was the recipient of the Woman- Owned Business of the Year 2019 Botswana ( Grant Thornton), Most Outstanding African Entrepreneur Award 2018 ( Tony Elumelu Foundation), Botswana Innovation Award 2019 ( Desert Honey Wine), Lioness of Africa 2015, BBC Food Chain Judge - 2019, Young African Leaders Initiative ( YALI) 2016, Top 100 Meaningful Businesses 2020.
In 2020 she was among six women entrepreneur awardees for the We Empower United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Challenge. She was also selected as one of 50 African Heroes by the Jack Ma Foundation’s Africa Netpreneur Prize Initiative.
Nduchwa- Chabana has also been part of Botswana Innovation Hub’s Incubation programme and was part of the Botswana team at the Slush finals in Finland.
She was not only approachable, polite, and unassuming but was also impressively intelligent, resourceful, and hard- working.
Her approach to life and business was charmingly efficacious. The word ‘ brilliant best described NduchwaChabana. It is barely surprising that at her young age, she had already accomplished what many others would probably never even achieve in their lifetime.