03 Feb 2014

A basic course in leather manufacturing was all that she needed to get motivated.

Needless to say, she passed with flying colours and was immediately enrolled for a more advanced artisan training course.  Again she was awarded a certificate of merit, which was testimony to her skills and prowess in leather manufacturing. It was a dream come true for 41-year -old Ms Kelebilemang Sentlabane. Her dreams and aspirations of using her talent to feed herself and her children were eventually coming to fruition.

Filled with inspiration and renewed hope for a better future, she immediately started her own leather manufacturing business. She used the money she got from selling sweets as seed capital and the remains of the leather that she was using for practical lessons whilst at Matlolakgang as raw material. Operating from home, she started producing leather products such as belts, bags, sandals, cushions, key holders and wallets.

“The problem was that I was unable to produce enough goods because I had limited capital and inadequate raw materials,” said Ms Sentlabane. Her first batch of products earned her P1 450, which she said was insufficient to cover her costs of production. She added that she was forced to lower her production costs by limiting her monthly output to a few key items, three handbags, a few wallets and a pair of sandals per month.

Ms Sentlabane revealed that she sells her key holders for P15, bags for P350 or P250 depending on the size and design, sandals for P150 while a wallet goes for P45. Despite her reasonable prices, Ms Sentlabane said she still finds it hard to sell enough products to turn a healthy profit. She explained that this is because Tsabong offers a relatively small market that is further saturated by more established leather production outlets that have taken up most of the lucrative market.

“They have secured the buying customers. I now sell to a few individuals who always want to buy on credit,” she said. Ms Sentlabane also has to deal with the challenge of lack of finances to cover production costs and to buy raw materials. She revealed that she is sometimes unable to purchase necessary tools and accessories like bulldog clips, awl blades and clams.

Bull dog clips are used to hold edges of leather together while gluing, awl blades for piercing holes while clams are used for hand stitching.

“Without these tools and accessories I take too long to produce my finished products. The quality of goods is also affected,” said Ms Sentlabane. She added that to beat the competition she would have to increase her bouquet of products and offer something unique. While she is able to get by with a few tools, increasing her product bouquet would mean that she would also have to equip her tool box.

“That way I will be able to save time and produce better quality goods,” she said. Another challenge that Ms Sentlabane faces is lack of a workshop. She said it is important to have a well-ventilated workshop, with adequate light and a large cutting table in the centre of the room on which she would examine leather more thoroughly when patterns are being positioned.

With dwindling finances, inadequate tools and insufficient raw materials, the mother of five was forced to seek other means of earning a living. She turned to menial jobs, backyard gardening and vending.

“I do a lot of piece jobs and I sell spinach, sweets and rape to augment my income. I also use part of the money to sustain my leather making business,” she said. But that is not enough, as most of the funds get depleted before the end of the month, forcing her to produce only a limited number of goods.

And so Ms Sentlabane has resolved to seek additional financing from government and other stakeholders.

“My business faces potential closure and I appeal to the relevant authorities to help me save it. All I need is a workshop to operate from and finance to purchase raw materials and tools,” she said.

Ms Sentlabane said she lives in constant fear of her business folding because of these problems. She said she has always aspired to run her own business, and her small leather factory is very special because it gives her the opportunity to do something that she loves and has a passion for.

Meanwhile, she promised to struggle along with her meagre resources to keep her dream of running a thriving leather enterprise alive. A basic course in financial management or book keeping would help Ms Sentlabane to manage her business well and enable it to thrive.ENDS