10 Apr 2018

Mixing elephant dung with paper to manufacture  products has seen the business of  33-year-old Ms Pusetso Galesiiwe thrive in a way she had not imagined.   

 

When the founder of Feather Tong Company decided to close business and sell assets, Ms Galesiiwe, who was employed as assistant manager, did not hesitate to negotiate with him to take over the business because she saw the light at the end of the tunnel.

 

She worked for the company from 2012 and was skillful and business minded and believed she could reach greater heights and create employment for others.

 

Feather Tong Company, situated at Boseja ward along the Maun/Francistown road, specialises in recycling elephant dung and mixing it with paper to manufacture products such as jewelry boxes, photo albums, sculptures and picture frames.

 

The company also uses ostrich eggs, feathers and wild animal skins to manufacture other products.

 

Ms Galesiiwe said she appreciated that any business comes with challenges, and that she believed that if entrepreneurs could not stomach the hard times, they could not run businesses successfully.

 

When she took over the business in 2016, she had nothing to pay for the assets but had the zeal to try her luck as she forsaw the business profitability, as they had already penetrated the international market. 

 

She explained that she could not lose the opportunity to own and operate a profitable project hence she negotiated with the owner to give it to her.

 

Fortunately some customers in safari companies placed some orders and paid up and she used the money to pay the owner and now she prides herself as the new managing director.

 

She introduced basket weaving and leather tanning to diversify her products. 

 

Today, the young woman is countered amongst the successful business women in Maun, and she is proud to have created employment for four youths.

 

Most of her customers are tourists who pass through Maun to the Okavango Delta and they are mostly from countries such as America, Canada, Zimbabwe, Zambia, South Africa and Australia. 

 

She said they have realised that most tourists visit Botswana to appreciate the beauty of the Okavango Delta and also to see the African elephant.

 

"We decided to mix elephant dung with paper to manufacture some of our products, and that alone has caught the eye of our international customers because the elephant is their lovely animal," she added.

 

Ms Galesiiwe said their products sold like fat cakes just because of the elephant touch.

 

In addition, she said they have made arrangements with some safari companies which operated in the delta to bring their customers to their factory before they could traverse the delta.

 

The safari companies, she said, also buy from the factory to sell in their kiosks in the delta.

 

 

She said they should not let challenges shatter their hopes but to rather keep on working until their dream were realised. ENDS