12 Jul 2018

 Leshibitse VDC is making strides in brick moulding, a  community project intended to reduce dependence on government funding.

When the project kick-started in 2010, it was meant to augment shortage of bricks, which was affecting infrastructural development in the village.

However, the project now fits a success story of how some VDCs have been able to come up with sustainable developments to enhance their livelihood.

 Because of the committee’s perseverance and zeal to succeed, it has also been identified as one of the three success stories in the country, which others can benchmark from.

The committee is also led by a woman who had been able to direct and guide others to achieve more for the village.

 “When we started the project it was not easy. We had to be patient until we saw results,” said the VDC chairperson Ms Onkarabile Seloiso in an interview.

She said the project had begun to bear fruits as many residents were now buying the services they provide.

Ms Seloiso shared that she had been blessed to lead a committee of men and women who were determined to bring change to the village despite the challenges.

“The committee has many ideas that they would like to undertake and since the brick- moulding project is making progress we now have to look into other projects,” she said.

She said it was their responsibility to ensure their projects benefitted the community in terms of employment creation.

As a result, the committee has decided not to hire permanent staff to mould the bricks, but to rotate residents, explaining that they hire two men each month depending on orders.

Ms Seloiso said initially they used river sand to mould the bricks, but their customers complained about quality, hence a decision to switch to crusher sand, which was sourced from Bela Bela Quarries.

Ms Seloiso noted that though the selling process can sometimes be slow, profit ranged from P1 000 - P1 500 per month.

She said they mould bricks based on orders made by clients as they buy materials like cement with the deposit paid and sell the remaining batch to the locals who are in need at the time.

She observed that the company had grown beyond measure as some nearby communities such as Artesia and Dibete have shown interest in their products.

With the view to run their project efficiently, Ms Seloiso said they were yet to fence their place of operation.

“We have requested the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development to assist us in acquiring the moulding machine. We are also counting on the P10 million constituency fund to buy the moulding machine to increase supply and efficiency in the business,” she said.

She further said the venture could have been profitable if the VDC had a vehicle as they continued to incur transport expenses.

Nonetheless, she said the project had created employment for the villagers as they work with donkey cart owners to transport the bricks.

She said the company was ready to work with big contractors in thevillages and around as they were looking forward to increasing manpower in their business and growing the business.

Another project, which the committee had embarked on is the construction of a sports complex.

Ms Seloiso said P150 000 was obtained through the Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Sport and Culture Development for fencing the plot, but more funds were needed to put up ablution facilities, change rooms and a guest house. ENDS