22 Jan 2019

Some enterprising young people have taken it upon themselves to devise decent ways to eke-out a living in order to beat the woes of rising unemployment.

Twenty-seven-year old Khumoyame Ndove, who uses old tyres, pallets and drums to make exquisite furniture, is one such young person.

He relays to BOPA in an interview that although he hatched the idea to salvage used tyres and drums to make products three years ago, real production started about two years ago as he had to engage on a bench marking exercise of like businesses.

The concept and passion of turning tyres and drums into great ornaments, he says, has always fascinated him.

“It has always fascinated me to see other people turn these landfill bound objects into splendid and useful ornaments,” he says.

He started off making a few products just to test the waters, only for them to turn into a craze among many people.

This would mark the genesis of the establishment of his own company namely; Crafteyed Designs, which currently operates from his place of abode at Donga location in Francistown.

Chairs, tables, stools, flower pots and many more items form part of his line of products.

He says quite a bulk of the material that he needs for production is easy to scavenge from the street corners, garages or better still retrieve from the landfill free of charge.

The only production items that come at a cost, according to Mr Ndove, are drilling machines and cutting saws.

Of course he purchases paints now and then to embellish the finished products.

Thanks to the advent of social media and word of mouth marketing, Crafteyed Design is known far and wide.

“I market my products verbally as well as through various social media platforms,” he chuckled with a smile.

His products are always on display by the roadside for all and sundry to see.

That said, lack of working space remains a stumbling block for Mr Ndove future expansion plans, but he remains hopeful that things will change for the better going forward.

Non-payment by some of the customers who acquire some of his products on credit also adds up to the already existing challenges.

He challenges fellow youth to swim against the tide of unemployment and think real hard about creating employment for themselves and others.

Absolute dependence on government, he says, has to be shunned at all costs. ENDS