29 Oct 2013

A house divided against itself cannot stand, it is therefore, essential that Batswana should jointly support the government in eradicating poverty.

This was said by the trio who are owners of Majama’s Bakery, a project funded by the poverty eradication scheme. Majama’s Bakery, situated in Bokspits and jointly owned by Ms Marie Rachel Van Neel, Ms Janeta Matthys and Ms Marea Setswalo started operating in February this year. Initially, the business was owned by five people but, two withdrew and went on to benefit from other empowerment schemes.

This business entailed producing and selling confectionaries such as loaves, fat cakes, cakes, muffins, scones, biscuits and fast foods like fresh chips and russians. The market was the community of Bokspits and government whenever there were workshops and conferences in the village.

The interesting part about the owners of Majama’s Bakery was that they were age mates, all in their 30s. The three young women also shared the same skills and were all experienced cookers. According to s Setswalo, all of them were fond of cooking, a vocation which they learned from their parents whilst they were still young.

“In our tradition as Coloureds, cooking is considered as a moral value and as such parents are compelled to teach their young girls to cook. This has helped us a lot since now we can impart the skills on our business. Our products are delicious and irresistible and very much on demand here.” Janeta pointed out.

The trio explained that their business was still small and growing, and as a result, their production levels were still low. She indicated that they produce six loaves, 20 fat cakes and 10 buns daily except on Wednesdays, when they increase their loaves to 46 as they supply Bokspits Primary School with loaves every Wednesday.

The owners of Majama’s Bakery are not discouraged by their small production since they have only just started and there are other bakeries in Vaalhoek and Struizendam, which were also financed by the Poverty Alleviation Scheme.

“We are satisfied with the little we get for we know even in a journey, you start by a step. In addition, we are in a rush for higher returns huge profits. At times our bakery produces extremely low volumes but we soldier on with the hope that someday, we will get out at the other end of the tunnel, for every cloud has a silver lining”, Van Neel pointed out.

According to Setswalo, Majama’s Bakery sells more at month end as people buy cakes, scones and muffins to celebrate at various occasions. Majama’s bakery also enjoys support from the Department of Social Welfare and Community Development(S&CD) which helps them with transporting their raw materials from suppliers in Tsabong.

The S&CD also helps them with marketing their products through taking them to exhibition shows and other events. Van Neel said besides the S&CD, the community is also supportive as they buy their products though they can easily make them at them at their homes. The trio could not stop praising the government for this programme which has enabled them to graduate from unemployment and poverty.

”In this era of recession, it is very hard for someone to freely buy you a drink, but our Government leads by example, it is in the forefront of the campaign for a compassionate and caring nation. We have a fully furnished and equipped building and that makes it convenient for our business operation to go on without any hindrances, Marea Setswalo said.

They also stated that their project did not change their lives only but also the community as people no longer need to spend a lot travelling a long way to Tsabong to buy cakes and muffins as their products are affordable and readily available. The proud owners of Majama’s Bakery revealed that hard work, cooperation and perseverance are what keep their business going.

“We work as a team and have made a covenant that we shall stand together until the end. That is why we even named our business with the first two letters of our first names, Ma- derived from Marie, Ja- extracted from Janeta and Ma- taken from Marea to form Majama.

We are creating a brand that we want to see succeeding both nationally and even internationally, Janeta said. They applauded the government for the various empowerment schemes and advised the youth to get off the streets and refrain from doing nothing for a living. They should engage in these programmes as idle hands are the devil’s tools. ENDS