Who would have thought that a practicing lawyer would also be the first to serve you the freshest dried fruit in Lesotho? The National University of Lesotho (NUL) trained LLB holder and advocate, Thapelo Ntsiki, is doing just that!
Thapelo is one of those rare breeds who is both as comfortable engaging you in court as he is in giving you food thereafter—charming dried fruit to be specific!
As we happily munch his delicious raisins , dried mangos, bananas and peaches, we should all do so with a full awareness that we, of all people, are living in exciting times. For sure!
“I was born in a home where dried fruit is adored,” he said. In fact his family liked dried fruit so much; they bought a solar drying machine from a local vendor and started enjoying the fruit.
Unaware, the family was kindling a different form of passion in him. “I started thinking about dried fruit as business, a different kind of business.”
An NUL educated scholar who will soon pursue his Master’s Degree in South Africa, Thapelo grasps the value of research. You see, dried fruit business may, from a distance, seem easy to do. But as with all business, it is not!
“So I did not want to plunge myself into something I did not understand,” he said.
That would prove to be a good choice to make. In time, he learned the value of fruit pre-treatment to improve appearance and shelve-life, something many local folks in the market do not understand.
“But I also wanted my product to be very different from what exists in the market,” he revealed. “So I chose ziplog bags which make my products appear attractive compared to those of competitors.”
Basically, he tried to be as unique as possible.
"Two roads diverged in a wood,” said Robert Frost, “and I - I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference." Thapelo’s own ‘less travelled by’ route would be no more different from Robert Frost’s. People just loved his products!
“I and three other partners take orders during the week and deliver our products on Fridays,” he revealed.
Apparently, Thapelo is not the kind of person who takes difficulties as impediments. In his view, it appears, the positives and the negatives are two sides of the same coin. They are all part of what we call success. How do we know?
Listen to this. Thapelo would learn with time, the disadvantage of using sun driers to dry fruit. For instance, as the fearsome Cyclone Lineo was wreaking havoc somewhere in Southern African, it would not leave his business untouched either.
“As the rains pour, it takes too much time for my fruits to get adequately dried.” So he researched on electric dehydrators and was dumbfounded! They were all expensive! What was he to do? “I decided to buy a low cost home-scale, dehydrator, not expensive industrial ones.”
That was a stroke of genius right there! In good “sunny times” he would be able to supply his loyal customers as much as in wet cloudy days with this supplementary machine.
Is there a lesson here? He was not willing to sit down and whine about a lack of funding and lack of this and that while he could easily solve the problem through innovative thinking, and within his means!
Surely, you, Lesotho’s young minds, are carefully listening to this wisdom. The days of ceaseless complaining and whining are over! It’s time for action!
At this point, your mind is probably racing with questions like, why would a professional lawyer get hooked on a business like dried fruits?
“It is never about me,” he said. “I wanted to make an impact in other people’s lives.” He just thought this kind of untapped business would be one of the best vehicles to help him achieve his aims.
From the start, his aim was to make some sort of a philanthropic inclined business. Already, he has dedicated a certain portion of the business income to that course.
He has identified a youngster who after passing well in primary school was unable to go to High School because his mother was struggling to make ends meet. Even the social safety nets wouldn’t help.
But, have you noticed? A remarkable trend is emerging among the Lesotho’s 21 st century youth. They clearly think differently!
Not too long ago, people would frown if a lawyer becomes so passionate a dried fruit promoter. It is the thinking that has left Lesotho unable to make a mere teaspoon, importing even a matchbox from outside!
Of course some folks out there still prefer things the old-fashioned way. But that didn’t work in the past, and in the not-so-distant past. And it won’t work now!
Times have changed buddies—and so should we!
Get him here: +26656281601 or donaldntsiki@gmail.com