By Charmaine Boois
Mariental, 24 Nov. – Ever since 40-year-old Mariental resident Desmond Burtze, set up a little kapana stall in the scorching sun on the sidewalks, it has drawn a lot of customers who would rather spend their meagre funds on the kapana than on expensive takeaways from restaurants and grocery stores.
Burtze grills pieces of pork, donkey meat, beef and occasionally chicken which he serves with mouth-watering vet cakes and spicy salsa to delight his clients.
Judging by the number of orders he receives, it is clear that the small business is booming each day.
Burtze claims the way to his current location was difficult since he encountered many setbacks as he tried to get a job, particularly during Covid times.
As Burze prepares his pork pieces for kapana, he told the journalist that before becoming a Christian, he had engaged in some unlawful activity to raise money when he was younger but all this did not take him anywhere.
Then he relocated from Windhoek to Mariental to try a number of occupations to supplement his income, such as being a disc jockey.
“I was a very well-known disc jockey here in the south, I played music at events from Gibeon to Mariental, and this helped me to get on my feet “said Burtze.
Burtze says after he became born again, he left his disc jockey profession, which he claimed attracted several temptations.
He joined the Divine Ministries church in Mariental while out of a job, and later received employment there selling kapana and vet cakes for the church, which enabled him to support himself.
According to Burtze, the church shut down the business. He then requested permission to continue the business, which the church members accepted, and that is how he came to have this successful kapana business.
“Things are going well for me, there are some days, when I don’t do well, but I pray and hope everything goes well at the end,” said Burtze who advises the youth to follow his example and take responsibility for themselves.
“It is not easy, especially now, to find a job, it is better if you start your own business and build your own dream rather than help build someone else’s dream,” said Burtze.
