Mme Masellone Nkuenyane
[mme – a respectful way to address an older woman in Sesotho, the official language of Lesotho]
MEET OUR HARVESTERS
Mme Masellone Nkuenyane (57) is one of the youngest harvesters in a total of nearly 3 500 harvesters, mostly female, who picks our rosehip by hand every season. She has been part of the harvesting team for 10 years now.
Mme Masellone lives in Masemouse village in the Maluti Mountains with her two sons, two daughters and one grandchild. Since their father passed away in 2010, mme Masellone has been taking care and providing for her children.
True friendship is a beautiful thing and mme Masellone and her best friend mme Amelia Lebele help each other in need, share secrets and even harvest rosehip together.
Her favourite food is steamed bread (bohobe) and tea with milk. This is one of the many reasons she excitedly waits for harvesting season every year!
On Sundays mme Masellone enjoys listening to sermons on the radio, but getting hold of batteries in such a remote village can sometimes prove to be quite challenging.
HOW ROSEHIP IS CHANGING LIVES
Since mme Masellone became a part of the Rosehip family, she has seen to it that her children and their children get a good education and that they have enough to eat. When the harvest is done for the year, mme Masellone runs her own beer brewery with capital investment from her harvesting wages.
Through harvesting rosehip, mme Masellone has regained some independence through supporting herself financially, and has seen her family rise to their full potential by getting the education that they deserve. She has also been able to create an income stream during the off-season when no harvesting takes place, thus securing a sustainable source of revenue until the next season kicks off.