Youths start projects to reduce migration

The projects are run under the Intshayalamuhla Arts Assembly, which was formed in 2005.
The association comprises 58 youths and is running projects, which include carpentry, dressmaking and music.
Mr Bolsheviks Ndlovu, who is the director of the association, said their aim was to make the youths realise that they could run businesses and be better people in their own country.

“We have realised that youths in border towns like Plumtree, have a tendency of leaving the country at a tender age in the search for greener pastures. We decided to form this association and show them that they could run their own businesses and still be successful,” said Mr Ndlovu.
“The youths who chose to join the carpentry and dressmaking projects undergo training before they join the group because we supply our products to shops, schools and individuals.”

Mr Ndlovu said they were still identifying more meaningful projects with areas of interest to incorporate more youths.
The head of department for the carpentry project, Mr Trust Ndlovu said they were earning a living through the project although they needed more capital for the business to grow.

“The advantage of the joint venture is that we share labour and we can produce more products to meet demand. We make about $500 per month through producing wardrobes, coffee tables and coffins and we hope to increase our production.
“The market is also available and this has made us realise that going to neighbouring countries such as South Africa and Botswana is a waste of time,” said Mr Ndlovu.

Mr Ndlovu, however, said they were facing a number of challenges and appealed to well wishers for financial assistance.
“The major challenge that we have is that we have no capacity to produce finished products that we can stock. We can only produce according to orders and sometimes we have to ask our customers to pay upfront.

“The other problem is that the furniture finish that we use is not available locally. We have to buy it in Bulawayo and it is a bit expensive for us to travel regularly to buy the finish,” said Mr Ndlovu.
He said they also needed adequate tools to produce standard goods.

“The other problem that we have is lack of tools, which makes it difficult for us to produce up to standard products and expand our customer base. I would like to appeal to well wishers to assist us in cash or in kind so that our business can grow.
“We also need people who can train us how to run our business because we are only carpenters and we do not have the skills to run businesses,” said Mr Ndlovu.

The project manager for the tailoring project, Ms Anele Mguni said although competition was high in Plumtree, they had managed to strike good business deals in the outskirts of the border town.

“We are providing uniforms to schools such as Bhulu, Dingumuzi, Madlambudzi and others. We have also ventured into sewing protective clothing such as work suits to try and broaden our business.

“We managed to gather resources such as machines from our parents and got $250 from a well wisher to start the business, but we need more capital so that we can produce more uniforms or diversify our business,” said Ms Mguni.

She appealed for electrical machines from well wishers, saying  the hand sewing machines that they were using were not good enough for their business.