By Motṧelisi Sekonyela
Limpho Sanya is a 25-year old from southern district of Mohale’s Hoek. She makes a living by producing leather goods like belts, bags, bracelets and seat covers – all of which she learned from the Technical Institute of Leloaleng in Quthing.
Limpho is currently in her final year of study in a course called Leatherworks and Poultry which takes two years to complete.
Going to a technical school was not always a dream path for Limpho. She opted for it after realising that she did not perform well enough in her high school final examinations and her chances of going up to university were slim.
She had to weigh her options and search for other means of making a living. Looking at the high unemployment rate, she decided to do something that would allow her to be self-employed.
This passionate young lady manually produces leather products and advertises them online media platforms. She uses Facebook and WhatsApp to reach potential customers, and she says the response is satisfactory especially since she only just started in June.
“For now, I only use social media to advertise my work. This method is working for me as I get new customers all the time. And since I am only starting, with limited resources, I can only manage to respond to orders placed via social media. Advertising on other media platforms like radio would mean big orders which I currently cannot produce,” Sanya said.
The only way she would be able to handle big orders, she says, would be through funding that would enable her to purchase more raw material and machinery to speed up production. That, she foresees, will enable her to employ a few workers to assist in the production of the items.
