27 Nov 2013

She can best be described as a master sorter with an insatiable appetite and passion for the diamond’s natural character. 

When her dream to be a Chartered Accountant went up in smoke after completing her Cambridge certificate at Moshupa Senior Secondary, unlike many of her peers, Doreen Kenosi’s did not give up.

Little did she know that today, and with a career spanning over 24 years, she would be a shining example to other Batswana who want to join the sorting bench. After sourcing diamonds, the next stage of the journey involves sorting the rough stones into a variety of categories.

“The goods are issued from our service delivery department and they come to the bench as a run off mine, that is a mixture of gem goods and industrial diamonds goods and we separate them into two categories,” explains Kenosi pointing to a package of high value special stones lined up on her bench. Kenosi is the only person doing this duty here.

She joined the diamond industry as a young diamond sorter trainee in 1989 at the former Botswana Diamond Valuing Company (BDVC). 

“Since the transition to DTCB we are now into a cost oriented industry. At BDVC we were sorting with limited machinery as we would just do sizing and dispatch to different departments but now we have technology that just does everything. Botswana has a large volume of small diamonds, thus they are sorted by machines which can do colour and model, amongst other high tech duties,” she adds.

Kenosi notes that the diamond industry is now taking a new turn with concentration now on the development of the downstream industries and urges young Batswana to take advantage of the entire process.

“It wasn’t my dream to be here but at last that’s where I am now and I envisage that whatever I learnt here be put to good use” she enthuses.

Upon confirmation as a trainee sorter, Kenosi took the pressure of juggling her job and schooling as she enrolled part time for a certificate in accounting at UB and later a diploma. In 2009 she graduated from the University of Botswana with a BA in Business Administration.

Part of her personal achievements includes a 12-month Diamond Professional Graduate Certificate programme with the University of Leicester. From the four DTCB participants, Kenosi managed to be the only one who successfully graduated from the programme. ENDS