The Sunday News
Peter Matika Senior Leisure Reporter
IT is in almost every suburbanite’s stereotypical upbringing to never consider taking up a career in farming, let alone live in a rural setup, far away from the so-called “luxurious urban lights”.Today, with the greater number of the population, the youth in particular, being so much accustomed to the fast-paced and ever evolving urban life, waking up to different melodious sounds of farm animals, fresh morning scent of the pastures and cow dung is somewhat of a privileged experience.
However, it is a different tale for newly resettled farmer, Butho Dube, who just at the age of 36, has managed to develop and establish an outstandingly extravagant homestead in Insiza District’s Shangani farming area.
With his sights set on button-holing the perception that rural folk are the backbenchers of evolution, Dube has managed to develop a homestead, where no urbanite would dare venture, even in their wildest dreams.
The farm house resembles a luxurious house situated in any of Zimbabwe’s affluent suburbs.
There are eight building structures that are fenced within a block, all built from brick, cement and roofed with asbestos.
The main house, which is tiled and roofed, has three fully furnished rooms that are solar and generator- powered.
Dube’s house also boasts of possessing the latest trend in house appliances and furniture such as leather sofas, teak dining-room suite, flat screen TV, home theatre and DStv.
Unlike other conventional farm houses, Dube’s has a fully functional lavatory and bathroom with running water.
“I spun away from the expected, conventional career track, where society required me to get a job in the city; requiring daily shuttles to a monotonous, mind numbing and uninspiring and poor paying job. I found it cliché to be perceived among those people that appeared successful to people outside my life yet I knew that wasn’t the case.
Since I grew up in the rural areas, I felt rather empty inside and found no meaning or passion for the city life, even though I am constantly in town, so after I was allocated this piece of land by the Government, I developed it to suit my liking,” said Dube.
Dube is a beneficiary of the Zimbabwean Government’s land reform programme and was allocated 300 hectares of land in 2008, where he practices mixed farming and has by far surpassed those that have been into farming for the greater part of their lives.
With about 400 cattle, some of which are pen fed, 80 sheep, 70 goats and incalculable numbers of chickens, Dube is undoubtedly a force worth reckoning with in the farming sector.
“I was allocated this land by the Government under the land reform programme. I tried to venture into other careers but as I noted felt my capability was being held back. Here I practise pen feeding so as to generate a valuable income to sustain the lifestyle I want to lead at my farm. From the cows I breed and sell from the pens I generate enough income to sustain my family and I all-year round. This I wouldn’t have managed to do while working in the city,” he said.
His mother, Muriel Dube who was also present at the farm when Sunday Leisure was invited for a tour, said she was extremely proud of Dube.
“He always loved the farm and the animals. It doesn’t come as a shock to see that he managed to establish such a life for himself. He should be an example to all the other children out there and to the country that hard work pays,” she said.
Dube was born in February 1978 in Filabusi and was raised there. He attended Siwazi Primary and Secondary Schools, where he went as far as O-level.
After his O-levels he helped his father, who is based in South Africa to start a company there and also worked for him before coming of age to partner him in 2004.
He, however, returned home to try and build his own life, where he managed to partner a local entrepreneur to start a road construction company — Enoch Construction and Earth Moving Equipment.
After finding the business environment tough he decided to approach the Ministry of Lands and applied for land to practise what he knew best, farming.
Dube is married and has three children.
“I managed to rent a piece of land, which I hope to see my eldest son take over and develop himself. There are 20 cattle there, which will breed into a humongous herd that will pay for his schooling and hopefully take care and develop him and his family,” he said.
Dube said he cared not for the finer things in life but believed that through farming Zimbabweans had a far much better way of developing not only themselves but the entire country.
A fortnight ago he was praised by the Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture, Cde Andrew Langa, who is also the local Member of Parliament for displaying such proficiency, when the country was going through hardships. Cde Langa said this during a field day tour of Dube’s Thornville farm.
