31 Aug 2015

Ms Tsholofelo Mavona, a 49-year-old upcoming entrepreneur from Boyeyi Ward in Gumare is a true reflection of the idiom that says ‘every cloud has a silver lining.’

Speaking in an interview with BOPA recently, Ms Mavona said she was always optimistic and believed that difficult times would lead to better days. In 2013, tragedy struck when her husband was involved in an accident, leaving him severely injured, which forced her to entirely take over the role of being the breadwinner.

To fend for herself and her family, she decided to make a traditional brick oven, which uses coal fuel to bake bread.

“I made a traditional brick oven using bricks and a sheet of metal to cook my bread. I heat my oven using coal and this method is cost-effective and convenient,’’ said Ms Mavona. She noted that she puts the coal on top of the metal sheet and allows her bread to bake perfectly and evenly.

Ms Mavona explained that the only difference between her traditional oven and an electronic one is that it uses coal and her bread is far tastier and appealing. 

She said people around Gumare and beyond love her buns each of which costs P1. She says she markets her bread through a word of mouth, adding that she preferred coal-baked bread to popular fat cakes because fat cakes need oil, witch expensive.

Meanwhile, she supplements her profit by doing backyard gardening, where she plants spinach, cabbage, rape, tomatoes and spring onion. She said she sells her vegetables in the local market, highlighting that her garden produce is fresh. 

Ms Mavona is faced with different challenges in her business as she does not have enough capital to increase her stock.

She also does not have transport to carry her goods to the market and she uses a wheelbarrow; when she has enough money she hires a car. Transporters charge her P200 per delivery and sometimes she does not have the money. She added that she does not have enough funds to hire an assistant.

All is not lost however as she has applied for the Poverty Eradication Programme and remains hopeful that she will be one of the lucky beneficiaries to excel in this programme. Her future dream is to see her business grow and able to supply local food chain stores with her freshly baked traditional oven buns. Ends