04 Oct 2017

Since the introduction of poverty eradication, some elderly people, who had the zeal to be financially independent despite their age, now have something to look up to.

One such is 57-year-old Ms Metinah Kale, who is into processing and preservation of food.

Ms Kale started her project with nothing but keen interest to be financially independent.

Her products, which include different fruit jams, yoghurt and pickled vegetable atchar, has become the talk of town.

Her participation in different expositions has also given her the platform and limelight and this has boosted her clientele base and profit margins.

She is passionate about cooking and little did she know she was building a business through trying different recipes and ways of preserving food in her backyard.

“Cooking is my hobby. I always tried different items and shared with some of the community members and a lot of them turned to be impressed about my trials and those who believed in me encouraged me to take my skills to another level,” she says.

With all the encouragement and support, she then registered a company; MK Diatlatsame.

The name, she says sheds light that people should not undermine wonders her hands can produce.

She first started the business from her savings and as demand for products increased, she sought for assistance from Social and Community Development (S&CD) office.

“I started off relatively low from my savings and due to lack of adequate resources, I felt challenged to meet the demand of my customers and I asked for poverty eradication package,” she says.

She was assisted with P15 000 worth of necessities, which included a gas stove, 48kg gas cylinder, pots, bowls, among others.

She was also given fruits and vegetables and different ingredients worth P2 500.

“I like the idea that the S&CD officers took up the responsibility to purchase all the items I had required,” she says.

Before she started operating, she was sent for a short online course relating to such a business.

She uses different fruits and pumpkins to make jam and different vegetables for her atchar.

In making jam she boils fruits, mash them and adds sugar.

She then packages into a bottle which she first immerses in boiling water and adds lemon before sealing the bottle to preserve the mixture.

She says her bottled items have a shelf life of six months.

Ever since starting the business, she says she never hesitated to go an extra mile  to  grow the business.

As such, she has designed flyers to marketed her business and stickers to be placed on bottles for easy identification of her products.

This, she says makes it easy for her customers to give her feedback about products.

Despite significant profit since she started operating last year, she says her intention is to save more.

This, she says is meant to keep implementing strategies to enhance growth, which will in turn create employment for others.

Ms Kale has also participated in the Department of Gender Affairs Women’s exposition and clinched first prize.

That saw her get invited to Gaborone for a workshop facilitated by government officials who gave her advice on the path to follow so as to supply retail shops and other reputable supermarkets. ENDS