Mankomo's General Trading

In January of 2003, twelve women in Mdantsane decided to start a crafts project, due to the fact that factories were closing down at nearby Fort Jackson. They started buying materials from their own pockets and went round to factories to see if they could salvage some of the off-cut pieces of material. Their first project was sewing aprons for a pre-school but they soon went on to do pillows, cushions and bags, all sewed on an old Singer which they borrowed from a friend in the township. Soon they generated enough money to be able to open a bank account and they also moved to a friend’s flat, which had electricity. This meant that they could trade in the old Singer for an electric machine.

Luckily their efforts were noticed and they eventually got funding from Pick ‘n Pay supermarket, who also sponsored one industrial sewing machine, one over locker and material. They would still like to receive training in a variety of business skills in order to grow their business and provide employment to other members of the community.