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summary

Although short, this interview contains some interesting insights into the cannabis business and the “healthy competition” that it engenders between farmers. The narrator says: “Selling cannabis is illegal and I know that, but I have no choice. I have to feed my family and pay for my children’s school fees. When I sell cannabis it is not like I am intruding or invading somebody’s property. It is not theft or murder, it is strictly business and I intend to continue it until I die.” Nevertheless, he realises he may not be able to grow cannabis in the new location and says his cannabis fields will be what he misses most.

Towards the end of the interview, some anxieties about resettlement are expressed. The narrator is primarily concerned about whether he will get on with the new people in the town of Nazareth, and regrets the break-up of his home community: “LHDA is going separate us from our friends and turn us into ‘refugees’ in our own country.” He is also concerned about whether he will be able to continue growing cannabis in the new lowland area, where the police may bother him.

detailed breakdown

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Section 1	Why he chose Molika-liko as his home. “I was attracted by the beauty of this place, but most importantly, the soil here is very fertile and this is good for cultivation.” Brief personal history. Agriculture; self-sufficiency of village.
Section 2	Keeps livestock, mainly for symbolic reasons. Thriving cannabis business. Sport, leisure activities and entertainment Improvement in local infrastructure since LHDA came. Social relations: “We have wonderful people who are friendly and understanding. For example, right now we are sitting outside somebody’s home but I am welcome here. We all know each other.” Village meetings.
Section 3-4	Feelings about resettlement: “We all feel we are being robbed but there is nothing we can do.” Personal history: worked as a herdsboy, then in the mines; no education: “Schooling, no, I do not even know how old I am.” Solidarity of the Basotho in the 1985 miners’ strike in South Africa. Fears of not fitting into new community and its “structures”.