YOUNG LADY VENTURES INTO CARPENTRY BUSINESS
When the Covid-19 pandemic hit the country and lockdowns and movement restrictions were imposed, a young female carpenter, Tshepang Motlhaku, ventured into commercial design and manufacturing of furniture.
She specialises in design and manufacturing of wooden products, including Kitchen units, stools, sleigh beds, coffee tables and many other products. She started her business last year, June and is based in Rasesa although she recently opened another workshop in Gaborone.
The 33 year old Motlhaku told the Business Trends that she ventured into the business because carpentry is her passion and has always loved design and manufacturing while at school.
She mostly uses pallets wood to produce most her products since getting other types of wood is not easy locally. “I always make exceptions for special orders if a customer wants a certain type of wood, but most of these woods are expensive, so I only do it on specific orders.”
Although carpentry is a strenuous work, Motlhaku said she is able to do all the work without considering gender limitations.
“I can tell you this is a very heavy work especially for women because it involves prolonged standing, climbing, bending, and kneeling but I have grown beyond the limitations, I can even offload a truck full of pallets and finish it alone. There are no jobs so we have to do all it takes to generate money.”
She worked in a furniture manufacturing business for one year and left because the salary was too little to cover her needs. She told the Business Trends that the process of furniture manufacturing is a risk to injuries as they work with sharp or rough materials, using sharp tools and power equipment but these had not discouraged her as a young woman.
Motlhaku is currently in the process to seek funding to expand her business. ”I am currently in the process of registering a company and seek financial assistance to expand my operations. I would like to supply all the furniture shops in Botswana.” She is currently working with three other youth.