Up Close with ... Norman Dogley, teacher in the Technology and Enterprise Department at the Belonie secondary school |26 July 2016

‘I would like to set up a pet breeding centre and see a return of farmers to agriculture’

Norman Dogley is a teacher in the Technology and Enterprise Department at the Belonie secondary school. His vocation, he says, has and will always be agriculture and his hobby apiculture (bee keeping).

But given the chance, Norman would like to be a vet.

Norman lives at La Misère. He was born in 1984 and at that time was staying at Copolia with his parents. He is single and has two sisters but no brother. He went to La Misère crèche and primary school as a small child but continued his secondary education at the Plaisance school.

Norman followed his post-secondary training at the Farmer’s Training Centre at Anse a la Mouche now called the Seychelles Agriculture & Horticulture Training Centre. There he emerged as Outstanding Student Year 1 and Best Overall Student Year 2.

Norman then pursued his studies at the then National Institute of Education (currently Seychelles Institute of Teacher Education) at Mont Fleuri where he obtained his Diploma 2 in Teaching.

With regard to how he feels about teaching, Norbert says:

“I love passing on my knowledge to the youths so as to ensure that we get a good, new generation of capable and potential workers,” says Norman.

“As for agriculture it helps feed the population of Seychelles. And as for apiculture, it is a means of relaxation for me and also helps me understand nature to the fullest as bees are a very good example of how we should live,” Norman remarks.

But Norman is somewhat disheartened with some students nowadays. He says they are not that motivated as he would have wanted them to be and they don’t know their priorities.

“But when one takes up teaching, one needs to have patience and devotion as it is a noble career,” he adds.

Talking more on agriculture, Norbert believes you need to have a love for the job, love for animals and plants and also determination as it is not always easy.

As for apiculture, you need to have confidence and not afraid of bees.

Norman also has some things he hates most in life.

“I hate selfish and egoistic people,” he says.

If he gets the chance, Norman would change his career.

“If I had a chance, I would change my career as a teacher to become a vet,” he remarks. Like the SSPCA motto says ‘they (animals) have no voice, they have no choice’, so as a vet you need to understand all the signs and behaviour of an animal so I can be their voice.

Down memory lane

Norman now takes us down memory lane where the love for agriculture first started.

“It all began when my parents moved from Copolia to Fairview, La Misère where my grandparents were already doing agriculture. So you might say my first steps was in agriculture. I grew up with all my uncles and aunt around me and most of them doing agriculture to.

“Most of my childhood was spent in the garden with my grandmother, around plants and animals. During the school holidays I would go to one of my uncles at Anse Boileau because there was a farm there with animals,” he recalls.

Norman developed the love for apiculture when he was an altar boy at the age of nine.

“Brother Victor had a lot of hives and every month my grandmother sent me to buy honey at his place. That was when I got interested in the rearing of this amazing insect.

“I started collecting bee colonies at the age of twelve. My first experience was a horrible, terrifying one as I got stung while tasting some honey after I had just finished collecting a colony. But this did not deter me from doing it again,” Norman remarks.

Up until now he has collected over a hundred colonies and is also giving training to young people who want to learn apiculture. Norman says one needs to have confidence when doing apiculture because if you are confused or scared your body releases some hormones and bees can sense that - and they will attack you.

Bad experiences

“One of my bad experiences during my younger days was when I was 13 years old and I got my first goat kid. It was a white spotless goat. One day one of my own Rottweilers attacked and killed her. I cried for weeks as I get very attached to all my animals,” Norman recalls.

“The second most painful memory is my parents’ divorce when I was in my early 20s. They were my role model of a family I would have liked one day. Because even if we had our ups and downs, we were always close. And I was proud of that,” he says.

Favourite memories

“One of my favourite memories was when I had my first pet. I was in Primary 2. It was a guinea pig from my dad. Unfortunately it died a few months later. I wrote a story about it entitled ‘En Gro Sagren’ in a national writing competition and I won first prize,” Norman adds.

But Norman’s best memory was winning the Outstanding Student award and Positive Image award at the Farmers’ Training Centre in 2002.

“It made me realise all the love, time and efforts put in agriculture were noticed and appreciated,” he says.

Hope

“Personally, my hope is to have a family with a strong foundation where love and happiness reign. I would also like to have a pet breeding centre where I can breed most of the pets found in Seychelles. And years down the line to continue all the work that I have started or maybe do better.”

Norman also wishes to see the return of all farmers who have left agriculture to come back and start afresh. He also wishes the youths show more interest in agriculture as well as in other sectors of the economy as there is a great demand in the country for motivated people.

By Marylene Julie