02 Aug 2018

Mr Lebogang Keitshokile, 33, is the undisputed youth wood carver and sculpture as evidenced by his track record and a trail of achievements ever since he started operating in 2013.

Mr Keitshokile has not only participated in the Presidential Arts competitions for a period of five years, but managed to maintain position one throughout. 

His woodwork is also known across borders and has also been showcased in some international websites.

Speaking in an interview, Mr Keitshokile noted that he was fortunate enough to receive a grant of P30 000 and a loan of the same amount from the then Ministry of Youth, Sport and Culture to start his business.

He said the competitions were a stepping stone as they brought him opportunities, citing exposure that made him excel further.

“Since 2014, I have always stood undefeated in wood carving and sculpturing countrywide. I participated at national level and I have maintained the first position throughout,” he said.

Mr Keitshokile said all the cash prizes he keeps winning go a long way to assist him attend to his business’ needs.

He explained that whenever he designs sculptures to be showcased at the competitions, he strives to come up with something that is in-line with the origins of the country and some cultural aspects of Batswana.

For this year, he said he had a two facet wooden sculpture with a front side of the coat of arms, and the back side of a collection of coins that were used locally around the early 1990s. He also said he had another structure of the map of Botswana, which was designed in such a way that its middle had structures of rotating old coins carved from wood.

Mr Keitshokile’s sculptures are not only known and appreciated locally, as he has managed to make contact with some stakeholders in the United States of America (USA) through whom he sells his items.

He also shared that he was currently negotiating a business deal with a company based in Russia. Meanwhile, he expressed appreciation about all his achievements, noting that credit should be given to one Zimbabwean man, Mr Mopho Gunde who introduced him to aspects of professional sculpturing.

Mr Keitshokile revealed that he had always been passionate about sculpturing since his childhood, but never had an idea on how to turn it into a success story and when he finally met Mr Gunde, it was a dream come true, as he managed to start operating and today he trades as Keitshokile Boys Sculptures PTY (Ltd).

The talented young man recalled that whenever his mates were out playing football on the streets, he would sit alone and sculpture wild animals using clay soil.

Mr Keitshokile said he was fascinated by the different wild animals he saw almost daily at their cattle post in the outskirts of Maun.

“I have always had a passion for sculpturing, in fact this was a way to kill time during my childhood days and when I met Mr Gunde I was overwhelmed, he mentored me and this made my childhood dream true story,” he said.

Mr Keitshokile highlighted that he had also donated some of his sculptures,  adding “I gave out some of my sculptures to the fourth president and his vice during one of their tours around Youth Development Fund (YDF) projects beneficiaries. This was a token of appreciation for their efforts to keep us the youth off the streets through different youth empowerment initiatives,” he said.

On another note, Mr Keitshokile indicated that he used dried motswere logs with permission from the Department of Forestry and Range Resources (DFRR) to minimise deforestation.

He said his challenge was transportation from the forest to the workshop as the logs were too big for a small car and always required a crane to lift, hence he plans to buy a bigger vehicle to reduce hiring costs. ENDS