Page 40 - Nine Yards Magazine 2021/2022 - Old Mutual Corporate

Mokgadi Mabela and her father, Peter Mabela
taking the lead next generation
The buzz that comes with a new idea
With Native Nosi, Mokgadi Mabela is turning her father and grandfather’s beekeeping tradition into a honey business – one well-placed step at a time.
By Elmari Rautenbach
They stand next to each other, father and daughter. Both wear a beekeeping suit made of thick cotton. Both carry a pair of red rubber gloves and an aluminium bee smoker. But unlike her father’s sturdy brown boots, Mokgadi’s flower-patterned gumboots are a quirky reminder of the designer heels she used to love wearing while working in the corporate world.
‘I never thought I’d end up being a farmer,’ she says. ‘And look at me now!’
Mokgadi had studied international relations at the University of Pretoria before entering corporate life. She had it all: the vibrant lifestyle, the car,
the townhouse.
Fast forward a few years, and she’s a beekeeper just like her Rakgolo and his father, but with one exception – she approached the family tradition like a businesswoman.
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