‘We have a bathtub and shower inside the house’: Man builds homestead out of content creation

Having lost his parents at a young age, Sabelo Elkah Hadebe, known in the digital world as Sabelo the Kreator, embodies a remarkable testament to how passion and perseverance can turn dreams into reality.

Hailing from Newcastle and thriving in Johannesburg in pursuit of his dreams, Hadebe has done what many adults from impoverished backgrounds want to achieve by building a homestead in rural Newcastle for his siblings, a place they can be proud to call home. 

He raised the funds to build a seven-room house through content creation. His journey from marketing student to content creator has been followed by thousands on social media.

His aspiration to build a home for his family garnered more than 179,000 followers on Instagram alone, with many inspired by him building a home for his family from scratch. 

He shared the videos of the process from the beginning. 

In an interview with TimesLIVE, Hadebe said witnessing the happiness of his family members, specially his nephew, has been one of the most rewarding aspects of the journey. 

“ Seeing my family members happy, specially my nephew who is excited that we have a bathtub and a shower inside the house, is so rewarding. My sister is very happy. I'm a family-oriented person. Whatever I do, it's for home. I had a dream of building my siblings a home,” he said.

He lost his parents at an early age and was raised by his grandmother. All who did not live to see the dream home.

“My parents passed away when we were children and we were raised by my late grandmother."

Hadebe said he was excited his journey inspired others to pursue their dreams of building homes for their families.

“People have the same dream and want to do the same for their families. We all have dreams and we all want to bring something back at home. We all want to build beautiful houses for our families. People have been inspired and some ask me to share how I have done it. How did I save up for it,” he said.

Managing the construction project came with hurdles, he said. 

“The most challenging things can negotiating prices and making sure people are paid well so they do proper work. I've always tried to make sure they are paid the amount they deserve so they give me quality work.

Despite occasional setbacks, such as feeling builders might charge more due to his social media presence, he found the process smooth and successful.

Building a house is not cheap and Hadebe raised the funds using social media creatively as a marketing tool.

“I raised the money through content creation. I do content creation full time. I left marketing to peruse my passion in content creation.”

While content creation has paid off for him, his start was not smooth. Hadebe said his journey into content creation as a male in a space predominantly occupied by women posed challenges.

He shares videos on X and TikTok about his life and Sunday vlogs which feature his weekly apartment cleaning routine and cooking. 

“Starting out as a guy was a bit difficult because of the content t I do, which is cleaning and this is dominated by women. There were a lot of questions and backlash about why I clean my apartment and skin care routine. I got used to people bashing me. My idea was to educate and encourage people to clean their spaces and taking care of themselves ,” he said.

The 30-year-old’s humility and dedication have earned him recognition, including the Feather Awards’ Personality of the Year.

“That was a milestone for me, specially in my content creation journey.”

He views the achievement as a validation of his hard work and passion.

Looking ahead, Hadebe is eager to continue his creative journey, focus on finishing his house, collaborate with brands and explore new content areas such as fashion and cooking.

“The main project is finishing the house, making sure I collaborate with brands such as Samsung, LG, furniture shops so I can show them how they can fit into the vision  I have for the house and the aesthetics I want to build. I'm excited to see the vision I have coming to life.”

TimesLIVE