Diva of Limpopo’s entertainment industry trades microphone for a shovel
The diva of Limpopo's entertainment industry and a woman of many talents, Rita Dee Nephawe, has decided to occupy herself with a new interest.
LIMPOPO – In 2018 she ventured into landscaping fueled by her love for travelling, nature and beautiful scenery.
“I started with designing friends’ gardens. I met Brain Chauke, who is highly qualified in the construction industry and he agreed to mentor me in the trade. The Covid-19 pandemic restricted us in many ways, but at least I had more time for classes and experimentation and I was offered a partnership at DonMark Trading and Enterprise, were I am now a shareholder.
“I love the landscaping business. With a lot of teamwork and long hours of hard labour, we have made great strides to grow the business. In a year we have worked on two resorts and eight houses. We specialise in concrete swimming pool construction, rockery, water features, wood decking, thatch construction, veranda or lapa construction and rock art,” said Nephawe. This pandemic has taught her that people should create employment where they can and calls on her fellow girls to join the trade.
“Landscaping is also a male-dominated business sector like music, so for you succeed you have to work hard and prove that women can also excel in construction. I want to create employment in my community. I would love to see more females join the landscaping world. You need to work very hard to execute the project, working with cement and concrete, but luckily I have a strong and experienced team that makes it easy for me,” she explained.
She told CV that turning people’s yards into their dream gardens and designing gardens for beautiful resorts is what she loves the most. She further said to believe in yourself and don’t listen to what people say, just do what you love. “In life you have to fight for what’s right for you because you cannot please everyone. If you feel like you want to do something, do it now.”
Entertainment is still in her blood, but she feels she has done enough groundwork for the Tshivenda music industry to evolve and that it is time to let the young ones play. “We started Limpopo Gospel Choir so there is a lot of challenges ahead. Landscaping is my new security. The past two years that taught me a lot. You need a backup plan because some jobs aren’t as secure as others,” she concluded.
