Hi-tech marvels made from junk
GROWING up in the rural village of Kopermyn‚ south of Polokwane in Limpopo‚ Mpho Makutu’s fascination with technology was a nuisance to his parents.
He would borrow parts from his father’s music system to build his next childlike invention.
But today the 20-year-old’s skilful handiwork building robots‚ cranes and remote-controlled cars out of what many regard as rubbish is a marvel for tourists along Vilakazi Street in Soweto.
And it puts food on the table for his family of four.
He can afford to buy groceries and pay his monthly rent from the money he makes from building his creations.
The ultimate is a red battery-powered robot that grabs objects and moves them around at the touch of seven different wire levers.
Makutu took two weeks to build this marvel‚ using cardboard boxes‚ wires and scrap metal from dump sites around Johannesburg.
The second-year mechanical engineering student at Molapo South College in Johannesburg said he had been fascinated by technology from an early age‚ and collected anything he thought would be useful to build things.
He recalled once getting “quite a beating” from his father for removing parts of his treasured music system. But now he is proud of his son’s handiwork.
On a good day‚ Makutu makes up to R300 displaying his wares at weekends when he is not studying, but he lamented that he was unable to display his creations in the Johannesburg CBD‚ where he could make a better income‚ because the metro police gave him a hard time.
In 2016, his wares were confiscated and he was told to pay R2 600 to have the goods released.
“I went to their storage after two days and told them I did not have that kind of money. They refused to budge, but complied when I threatened them with lawyers.”
His dream is to be an inventor with his own workshop. –