Wood products help man earn a living
Koketso Kgoboge | Monday October 5, 2015 18:00
The Serowe-born 22-year-old says that his father and elder brother manufactured and sold artifacts to sustain their family. “Being closer to them made me develop keen interest in wood-carving from a tender age,” he said. Mokalaiye now owns his wood-carving business at Lekobeng, near Lecheng.
Mokalaiye told Mmegi that he was popular at primary and junior secondary school because of his art skills, particularly woodcarving.
He said he started wood-carving when I was doing standard three.
“I would play around with my father’s tools and discarded materials, when they were busy working on their artifacts,” he said. “As time progressed I was able to make artifacts of various animals using wood and my father would help me with finishing touches.”
He said his passion for wood carving influenced him to do art at Mannathoko Junior Secondary School where his studies included drawing and sculpting. He represented the school in art competitions and received many awards because he was outstanding.
After finishing his secondary education, Mokalaiye spent years working in the family business before quitting in 2013 to go solo. His brother left the family business ahead of him to work for companies.
He added that his father had become less active, so he quit to establish his own business to, among other things, become independent. And, he set up the enterprise at Lekobeng for easy access to the raw material, which is wood.
However, Mokalaiye said for now he was not focusing much on profit for his business.
“What is important for me at the moment is to master my craft,” he said. “My aim is to make many artifacts to enhance my skills before I can think of making money. I display some of my artifacts at the Martins Drift highway and the little I earn from the sales can sustain me very well.”
Mokalaiye said he manufactured ordinary crafts such as traditional chairs and animal artifacts but wanted make other products.
“I want to embrace innovation and manufacture products with a modern element,” he added. “Of recent I have been doing research mostly from magazines on how I can improve my products. I have to keep up with dynamics of the wood-carving industry to cater for dynamic needs of my customers.”
He said once he is convinced that he has gained enough experience in the wood- carving industry he would approach government for funding in order to grow his business. He believes more help could come from Thapong Visual Arts.