Home Page: Willmore Adventures in South Africa
Hello Everyone and welcome to
another instalment of our family adventures in South Africa. With Easter fast approaching it seems only fitting to delve back into the world of Shepherd our
gardener and to visit his chicken farm in the rural province of Limpopo. An
expansion of the farm to include a coup of egg laying chickens has been this
year’s success story. So, it’s eggs at Easter here for Shepherd and his young
family.
Let us refresh ourselves on Shepherd’s story, discover more about his family and
the common problems that face South Africans, and follow them on this
eggtraordinary adventure.
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| Shepherd |
We first met Shepherd back in 2018 when we moved out
to South Africa from the UK. He was the gardener of our rental property, and we
got to know him over lunch every week as we learnt about South Africa through
his stories growing up in this beautiful land. Shepherd’s wife, Rebecca, passed
away in 2019 after a very brief battle with cancer leaving behind five children, two of whom were still at school. It was a really difficult time for him and for his
children who were now left to live on their own in their rural homeland of
Limpopo whilst Shepherd continued to work in the city of Johannesburg. Shortly
after, Laurence and I discovered that Shepherd and Rebecca had had a dream to
run a chicken farm, which due to financial reasons had never come to fruition.
So, with a desire to see Shepherd’s family recover from the tragedy of Rebecca’s
death, and to see him rise out of poverty and realise his dream, we hatched a
plan which resulted in the creation of ‘Shepherd and Rebecca’s Chicken Farm’
back in January 2020. It was such an exciting time, and it was also a step
closer to Shepherd being able to return home and retire with a sustainable
income.
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| The first ever batch of meat chickens on Shepherd and Rebecca's Chicken Farm back in 2020 |
After a year of Shepherd’s family running the farm on their property in
Limpopo, it became apparent that a second form of income would be needed. A
batch of chickens had all fallen ill and died, leaving the family without an
income for that month. Shepherd decided that he needed to broaden his horizons
so that he wasn’t completely reliant on chickens for their meat. Eggs was the
solution, and so Christmas 2020 saw Shepherd and his family build a coup for
some egg laying chickens. Phase 2 of the farm was complete, and we just needed
to wait for the chickens. It wasn’t until a whole year later when Shepherd was
home for Christmas in 2021, that he had the time to rear 30 chicks and establish
the egg laying side of the business. As January 2022 started and Shepherd once
again returned to Jo’burg for his work as a gardener, we waited with
anticipation to hear if the egg layers were a laying… The end of January and the
first few weeks of February passed, and still there was no news of eggs from
Limpopo. The cost of feeding the chickens was eating into the only bit of money
Shepherd had, and that was meant to pay for food for his family in Limpopo and
himself in Jo’burg. We researched ways to improve the environment for the
chickens, and Shepherd had boxes added for the chickens to lay eggs in, and
branches in the coup for perching. Shepherd then decided that the chickens would
need more food in order to have the energy to lay, so with a final outlay of
money to buy more feed, we waited again for the prized eggs. Towards the end of
February, Shepherd was rewarded with his efforts…the chickens started to lay, he
finally had eggs! It took a few weeks before the chickens were laying like
clockwork, and food was increased yet again as they started to eat their own
eggs, but as of the end of March 2022, the chickens were laying enough eggs to
cover their own feed, and even some extra for profit.
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| The arrival of the egg laying chickens, Christmas 2021 |
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| Eggs, eggs, eggs! |
We are so happy for
Shepherd and his family with what they have achieved over the last few years.
Our weekly lunches continue three and a half years on from when we first met,
and our understanding and appreciation of Shepherd’s life deepens every time.
Here is a little insight into the family he holds so dear…
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| Shepherd with his mom, Muofhe, who at 83 still sleeps on the floor every night without a mattress. |
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| Phindulo (Pretty) , the first born at 29 and a teacher in Limpopo |
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| Pfarelo, the second born who looks after the family and manages the meat chickens with the third born, Thabelo (Kingsley). |
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| Shepherd and the two youngest boys, Mutikedzi and Rikundele during the initial build back in 2020. |
Shepherd, like many
South Africans, has suffered immeasurable loss in his life. As a child he lost
his twin brother to something that was no doubt curable, and as an adult, he
lost his older brother, Ayhashoni, to a vengeful poisoning at work, and who died in his arms. He
also lost his younger brother, Tshimangadzo, who just disappeared one day. Someone disappearing
is apparently quite common out here, as body parts are requested and used by
witch doctors to make medicine known as ‘muthi’. The country is so vast and the practice so widespread that the police haven't the means to investigate. As a result of these significant
events in his life, Shepherd tries to protect and support his family in any way
that he can. Phase 1 of the chicken farm with the meat chickens gave his older
children, Phindulo and Thabelo, a job and a purpose when unemployment is so high in South Africa, and
Phase 2 with the egg laying chickens has given his nephew, Humbulani, who is disabled and
unable to find work, a job and a purpose too. Humbulani, sells the eggs from
Shepherd’s home, and if he has any left over at the end of the week, boils them
and takes them down to the local football ground to sell as snacks to the
supporters. Retirement for Shepherd moves ever closer and ever more possible as
he nears 60. We hope when it comes, it will be an exciting and not a
stressful time for him.
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| Shepherd's nephew, Humbulani. |
For the Willmore Family, these past few months have been extremely busy. School and school trips for the children (Amelie is currently surfing with her class mates in Durban), and work and more work for the adults. I have said goodbye to my volunteering with the French organisation, Creche Gabrielle, that I worked at once a week for a year. I will now start back up at The Riversands Primary School in the township of Diepsloot where I taught before Covid and which has finally returned to full time education 2 years after the start of the pandemic. Shepherd has also been helping me in our veggie patch at home providing me with the tools to become more sustainable in our own lives too.
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 on her week long school trip, and Amelie surfing the Durban waves... |
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| Saying goodbye to the little ones at Creche Gabrielle |
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| Photo bombing a final imaginary tea party! |
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| Posing with Shepherd in amongst the maize in our veggie patch. |
So, it's eggs in Limpopo that we are
celebrating this Easter, and Shepherd's step closer to a sustainable way of life for him and his family. Thanks so much everyone for reading the blog and for all your
support. I hope you are all safe and well.
And let us keep all the people of Ukraine
in our hearts at this time.
Lots of love, Jess xxx
Previous post: Saving Lives and Saving Face!
Next post: Fresh Water, Salt Water, No Water, Floods!
Some extra pics from the last few months...
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| Friday treat at the Bryanston Garden Centre |
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| Mardi Gras style parade at the French school. Joel is dressed up as 'love'. |
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| Elowen as a cheetah. |
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| Amelie as a last minute monkey. |
