Luphisi entrepeneur Thulisile Mohale displays the comforters she sews on her friend’s machine, and hopes in time to purchase her own machine and grow her business Picture taken by: Hlengiwe Mthembu Wildlands /Conservation Trust
An entrepreneur has emerged from a tree-growing project in Luphisi and a sewing business is now developing that also teaches learners between grade seven and twelve how to sew for themselves.
Indigenous Trees for Life is a livelihoods project that employs Thulisile Mohale as lead facilitator where she teaches needy individuals to grow indigenous trees from seed until they reach a certain height, when the trees are traded for goods such as groceries, school uniforms, clothing and household items. Mohale is one of the most successful tree growers herself (they are known as tree-preneurs) which makes her an ideal facilitator.
The qualities of patience, discipline and determination needed to ensure that trees survive and grow, are just those needed by entrepreneurs looking to establish a small business. Mohale’s facilitator role exposed her to the “green future stores”, the market places set up by Wildlands for tree-preneurs to exchange their tree credit for goods. The popularity of the comforters/bedspreads as well as school uniforms showed Mohale where she could provide a product for her community.
“People trade 40 trees at a value of R 5 each for the comforters, so I started making these with my friend’s sewing machine,” she said. “I purchase the material in Nelspruit, but I need to buy more and I would like my own sewing machine. I plan to teach a group of the tree-preneurs how to sew. This can show the young people opportunities for their future.”
Indigenous Trees for Life is part of the Wildlands Conservation Trust’s Sustainable Communities Programme aimed at supporting the transformation of the Trust’s partner communities into healthy, vibrant and sustainable communities. Identifying the highest producers amongst the tree-preneurs and facilitators, and incubating them as entrepreneurs, is one of the new strategies Wildlands is adopting in reaching this goal of developing the communities in which they operate.
Wildlands has therefore committed to purchasing comforters for the green future stores from Mohale in order to assist her. Charmaine Veldman, the Wildlands Conservation Trust’s Sustainable Communities Programme Manager, explains: “By identifying the most successful tree-preneurs to support in a business venture, we are finding those with the kind of initiative and entrepreneurial spirit needed to make a success and start something from nothing,” she said.
The Luphisi Indigenous Trees for Life Programme is sponsored by Old Mutual.