Bakery co-operative success
The fame of Nana bread is widespread
IF YOU haven’t tasted “Nana bread”, then you haven’t eaten good bread in your life.
At least that’s the popular sentiment among Ezibeleni township residents in Queenstown for the past five years, who love the product made by their township bakery.
Before that township residents had two choices if they wanted a loaf of bread – travel to town (at great expense) or buy bread from local spaza shops.
Enter Sithi Makukhanye (loosely translated as “we’re saying there should be light”) Co-operative Bakery Limited.
Since 2010 the co-operative has produced thousands of loaves of Nana Bread which is sold to residents and shops in Ezibeleni.
Some of the bread is even sold to shop owners in rural villages in Whittlesea, about 30km outside Queenstown, as well as a cluster of villages in the Ntabethemba area, between Cradock and Queenstown.
The bread derives its name from a moniker given to the township by residents owing to Ezibeleni’s English name of Queens Dale.
They dubbed their beloved township Queen (nana), loosely translated as “smaller Queen”.
Surprisingly, bread-making was the furthest thing from the minds of the founders of the co-operative when it was formally established in 2006..
Instead, the group dabbled in making dolls from cloth but discarded this idea after its members found that dolls were not generating any profit for the co-operative.
Sithi Makukhanye’s chairman Zwelibangile Modi said apart from producing bread, the co-operative also baked scones, rock buns, fat cakes and burger buns which flew off the shelves every day.
“We approached the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) around 2009 with the purpose of securing funding for the co-operative.
“They gave us a couple of suggestions on what we could do and we chose to start a bakery.”
He said they did not even bother to do research but based everything on supposition.
“We felt we could penetrate this market.”
Despite their enthusiasm to conquer the market, there was one little problem – none of the members had any baking expertise.
In 2010, their application for funding was finally approved and they received R286 000 in the form of an oven, a mixing bowl, two tables, two display racks, a fridge, cake mixer and a prover.
Some of the money was used to install a three-phase electricity system at a building secured by the co-operative while the money was also used to train members in the art of baking via the services of a Johannesburgbased German service provider DGRV, which specialises in baking.
Apart from the elderly Modi, other members include his daughter Zukiswa Modi who is responsible for administration work, floor supervisor Nosimo Kolobile, production supervisor Paulina Kalipa and bakers Nosipho Mpambani, Zodwa Mahlanyana, Portia Duli and Babalwa Mngxuma.
Xoliswa Njokweni is responsible for street sales and Mgcineni Kalipa handles deliveries.
“We sell in areas like Zola, Thornhill, Ntabelanga, Kamastone, Upper Zangqokwe, McBride, Hensum, Hukua and Lahlangubo,” Modi said.
But a huge chunk of their market still lies in Ezibeleni where demand is even greater on weekends.
He said they were able to rake in around R60 000 each month which was channelled into paying their bakers, fuel, electricity, rent and buying more baking ingredients.
But the aim is to increase the scope of their supply to include government hospitals and correctional service centres.
“We have approached various authorities but so far it hasn’t worked out. We even submitted proposals to hospitals like Frontier and Komani but have yet to receive positive feedback.”
The co-operative also wants to secure its own premises in future and buy equipment to produce more confectionery like biscuits and cakes. — sikhon@dispatch.