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Going with the grain

Carpentry trainer Desmond Sithole shows Gcinile Lukhele how to make a wooden chair. Gcinile is one of six women in Ingwavuma, South Africa, who is receiving woodworking training from Ingwavuma Orphan Care so that she can start a carpentry business. Photo: Matthew Willman/OxfamAUS Carpentry trainer Desmond Sithole shows Gcinile Lukhele how to make a wooden chair. Gcinile is one of six women in Ingwavuma, South Africa, who is receiving woodworking training from Ingwavuma Orphan Care so that she can start a carpentry business. Photo: Matthew Willman/OxfamAUS

A year ago, Smangele Myeni, of Ingwavuma, South Africa, never expected she would be supporting her family by making and selling furniture.

But with the support of Oxfam Australia and local partner Ingwavuma Orphan Care, Smangele and five other local women have established a carpentry business, making chairs, desks, doors, tables, cupboards and other furniture to sell to local schools, businesses and residents.

Life is tough in Ingwavuma, a remote village in the extreme north of KwaZulu-Natal province. About 90 per cent of the population is unemployed, 35 per cent are living with HIV and 50 per cent live on less than $1.50 a day. The situation is further exacerbated by the local education system which is ill-equipped to provide students, especially women, with the skills they need to get a job.

Ingwavuma Orphan Care is trying to bridge this gap by equipping single mothers, widows and older orphans with the skills and knowledge to earn an income through projects such as market gardening, sewing, catering and, now, furniture-making.

"When we approached Oxfam, it came up that we needed more than just to have an idea and do it," Vee explains. "It became clear that we needed to run this as a business and do it properly.

"Oxfam supported us to do a feasibility study, conduct an industry analysis and put a business plan in place. They also gave us funds to set up the business."

The six women selected to take part in the project either care for children orphaned by AIDS or are orphans themselves. Under the guidance of professional carpenter Desmond Sithole, they completed an intensive three-week training course to learn the intricacies of furniture-making - how to select, clean, prepare and cut the wood, how to use specialised tools and equipment and how to use scale models to determine the finished size. They have also learned finance, business, management, marketing and production skills.

"The project is still very much in its infancy," Vee says. "We are taking people who have little education and management skills and putting them in a situation where they are running a business. It’s not something you can do overnight."

The women operate their business from a specially-built workshop and showroom along the town’s main road. They are currently earning about 500 rand per month (AUD $85) which they use to pay for food, health care, schooling and other basic necessities.

"I am really enjoying this," says Smangele Myeni, who is the group’s coordinator and the mother of two children aged 13 and six. "This work makes me very happy. "If not for this project, some of these women would have no money; they could not buy food; and they would die."

Ingwavuma Orphan Care is now looking at holding follow-up training sessions, so that the women can further improve their woodworking skills and expand their customer base.