22 May 2019

What started off as a hobby shared by siblings in Ga-Segwagwa in the Southern District has turned into an income-generating business for Mr Tiroyaone Nkatanyane.

For him, wood carving comes naturally since he always watched his father use small manual tools to make household items such as traditional chairs.

Therefore, it was effortless when, together with other siblings, Mr Nkatanyane joined the bandwagon of artistry at a young age.

However, travelling the country and venturing into formal employment was an eye-opener for the Standard Four drop-out.

While working as a truck assistant at Kgalagadi Breweries Limited (KBL), he strategised on how to augment his monthly income and what better way than to nurture the already existing skills of working with wood.

Since Mr Nkatanyane had already mastered various compositions and capabilities of different tree species, he followed his heart and moved away from the city to settle in Moshupa.

His move was intended to enable his dream of following his passion while at the same time still engaged in formal employment.

The initial plan was to do the wood work during his spare time, but high demand for his traditional artefacts saw him broaden his scope and open a mini workshop at his rented residence.

“I started in 2017 on a small scale and worked on orders during weekends and off days. However, my machines were stolen and I had to start over last year. We have since built a more secure workshop where I am renting and the small business employs two fulltime workers,” Mr Nkatanyane  said, as he explained the birth of his dream, Mortration Design.

Situated along the main road at Rungwana ward, the entity, which started off as a part-time hobby, is now a glimmer of hope for Mr Nkatanyane.

The high demand for products such as traditional chairs, wooden bowls and gun handles, among others, transformed it from being a disturbance to a welcome development since his retrenchment from KBL.

Nonetheless, his face immediately turned somber when he recounted how lack of funds hindered him from satisfying his market.

“I mostly use small hand machines but the production is big and hard wood needs industrial machines, especially the saw mill. This machine is effective in cutting big wood and would also enable us to diversify into other products such as tables and sleigh beds, which need to be sliced into thin pieces,” he said.

His efforts to save towards industrial machines did not bear  fruit because some customers preferred to pay with livestock such as goats.

Even though acquiring livestock was a long-term investment for him, it did not serve the purpose as his business need transactions that would grow it on a regular basis.

The limited resources also hampered the business to travelling to far places to harvest tree species, which were scarce in the locality, and this resulted in them buying ready-made timber. ENDS