27 Aug 2017

When one thinks of jam, bread comes to mind, and Maungo Craft Jams produces the most versatile jams made from indigenous foods.

Maungo Craft Jams chief executive officer, Ms Bonolo Monthe revealed in an interview that naming their product was inspired by the creativity that takes place during the jam making process until the final product, calling it “art in a jar” for the simple fact that they bottle art.

First time exhibitors at the Botswana Consumer Fair, Maungo is run by a team of four dedicated and creative individuals who wanted to do something extra-ordinary and for themselves and not rely on government for employment.

Driven by their love of art and the fact that they were able bodied and at the prime of their youth, the quartet put their heads together and decided to create healthy jams made from Marula fruits infused with different fruits and other local foods.

The jams come in six different flavours each containing a range of different fruits that brings out the refreshing ‘earthy’ taste to it.

The old faithful flavour which Ms Monthe said was the first jam they created, is made from the Marula fruit with chia seeds and vanilla.

The Nana flavour is made from the Marula fruit and banana, and both jams can be used as a substitute for sugar on porridge, and they can also be used during baking because of their sweet taste.

The old faithful and the Nana jams are also ideal for desserts as they can be used as ice-cream toppings and can be added on smoothies and milk-shakes.

The Mara-Mara is a savory jam made from chilli and ginger which can be used as a marinade to make sticky wings and succulent ribs.

Maungo also prides itself with the Tango jam made from Marula fruits infused with grape fruit and goji berries which bring a tangy flavour when added to stews.

Both jams are ideal for making pizza or burger pastes.

Maungo jams took versatility to a whole level on their creation of sweet onion chutney and the chunky bob made from biltong and baobab which introduces a ‘herby-ness’ flavour when added to stir-fries and meatballs.

Self-funded and currently home-based, Maungo has been in existence for six months.

The products can be bought online and they deliver the products for free.

Ms Monthe explained that running a business was not child’s play and that it required dedication and determination to work hard and produce despite the challenges present. She said their hard work, tears and sweat proved worthwhile when they took position one at the Youth Business Exposition in June under the food processing category when they were only 18 weeks in operation.

She said participating in consumer fairs and expos has helped their business because they were getting exposure and brand awareness on their products through marketing and interaction with customers.

Furthermore, Maungo Craft Jams has taken part in Business Creative Botswana, an international competition about creativity and innovation where they made the top 10.

She said should they win the nationals they would represent Botswana at Copenhagen

They are also part of another competition called Botswana Farming awards under agriculture production and they are awaiting results.

Going forward, the business wishes to secure funding from government because they need to move into retail.

Ms Monthe revealed that they would like to move into a bigger setting that has an industrial kitchen that would allow them to create employment for the youth.

“We want to create another cash-flow possibility in the country. Once we scale out, we will hire more youth and hopefully that would alleviate government of being the only source of employment.

“Our major goal is to end up in retail and to export to the international market because there has been an interest in that area,” she added.

She advised youth going into business to consider working in collaboration with other people, citing that getting in partnership with other people may produce feasible ideas as opposed to when doing business alone.

She said it was wise to start off with the right mind and attitude and that people ought to surround themselves with people who could share the same vision with them as they would lead them into the right path and eventually their business would blossom

“We are the next generation of businesses, it’s upon us to make it happen.

We need to write a different narrative so that other young people can see that it is possible,” she added. Ends