10 May 2016

When she started her business back in 2006 at Kolonkwaneng, a small village in the Kgalagadi district, Ms Reginah Botha did not know that 6 years down the line she would be a renowned business woman.
Ms Botha specialises in leather works, making unique leather mats as well as handbags and it is the distinctness of her craft which has led to an overwhelming orders from various customers across the country.
She shared her story in an interview that her journey started in 2012 during the inaugural Khawa Dune Challenge and Cultural Festival when she was roped in to exhibit her products.
She said it was during a tour of the stalls by President Lt Gen. Dr Seretse Khama Ian Khama that she got a chance to share her challenges with the President as she highlighted lack of machinery as a draw back to her business.
Today Ms Botha is able to craft her way to the top thanks to the two machines availed to her courtesy of the President.
“I have found it better to design a mat and present it to President Khama as a way of appreciating and thanking him for the machinery he has given me. It was difficult for my business to grow as I usually took close to a month working on one mat,” she said during the just ended Khawa dune challenge.
Ever since being given the machines, Ms Botha says she now takes only a day to design and knit a mat using goat skin and her prices ranges from P800.
She said what differentiates her from other artists who do the same craft is that she maintains the originality of the mat ensuring that it does not lose its fur but putting touches here and there to vary designs.
The single mother of two and a grandmother to four noted that it was at the annual Khawa Dune Challenge and Cultural Festival that she experienced growth in her business adding that she never envisaged a year passing without exhibiting.
She said a lot of good has come out of the event especially for local businesses as it has proved to be a marketing strategy from across the country and beyond. ENDS