23 May 2018

Thirty-seven-year old Boitumelo Daniel from Mosojane says his craftsmanship is his meal ticket.

Mr Daniel, who doubles as a security guard, said designing handmade leather sandals is now his source of income after his ultimate dream of being a beekeeper failed to materialise.

Now residing in Semotswane, he recalled in an interview with BOPA the disappointment he felt as he had been focused on making his beekeeping dream come true, but failing to secure funding meant his plans were completely shattered.

However, after reality dawned on him, he decided to resuscitate his craftsmanship, a talent he had been ignoring, though he acquired it from his family at an early age.

He recalled his days of patching his schoolmates’ shoes when he was still residing in Francistown and schooling at Selolwe Junior Secondary School.

“My trade is upholstery and leather work and I produce products like leather sandals and push-ins for both men and women,” he said.

Mr Daniel explained that so far, his business is doing well, citing that his shoes have been selling and he hardly keeps any items in his storage.

Although he receives a fair number of requests, Mr Daniel said there are a handful of challenges that prevent him from meeting the demand.

One of challenges, he said, is the means of production, explaining that he is currently using the traditional manual way of production, which slows him down.

Mr Daniel revealed that some of his challenges include the unavailability of materials used to create his shoes.

 “Currently am just using word of mouth and social media platforms to market my products and I mostly produce on pre-order.

So far, the response I get is positive,” he explained.

He said at the moment, his business sells to people in the vicinity of Semotswane, adding that he has an arrangement with a retailer in Francistown who sometimes stocks his products and shares profits.

Mr Daniel believes his business can grow to a larger scale, noting that manufacturing is one of the key drivers of the economy and he hopes that as he gains experience he would get formal training to improve his skills.

The craftsman is hoping to get funding so he can find a conducive workshop to enable him to produce more units and quality products.

He also said should his aspirations come to pass, his business would create employment for others. Ends