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At the tender age of 10, Siyabonga Mhlabane was forced to take care of his mother’s chickens. Now 26, the North West University graduate owns his own poultry company.
The Alfred Daisy Poultry firm, named after his mother and late father, produces, processes, packages and distributes chickens and by-products like chicken feet and livers.
Mhlabane’s mother, Daisy, worked as an educator for adults in the evenings and looked after the chickens during the day.
“She would wait for me to return from school so I could look after the chickens. I am a soccer person and I had to abandon it at the time because I knew it was our way to survive,” he said.
Daisy bought day-old hens which she raised until they were market-ready at 35 days old. She would sell them with the assistance of her son and other young people in the community, according to Mhlabane.
“It was not a formal business. It was a hand-to-mouth arrangement that helped put food on the table, which I eventually fell in love with,” he said.
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BY: NONKULULEKO NJILO
SOURCE: TMG DIGITAL
