DZANANI – “I cannot allow hunger and poverty to destroy my life because God gave me a pair of hands and a functional mind to use in the war against unemployment. I call on other unemployed women like myself to wake up and use their talents to earn some cash…”

This is the advice from an admirable, hard-working, unemployed single mother of four, Maria Tharini (55) who makes and sells Thovho“I never went to school and I had no other option, except to work hard to support my four children who are all still at school. Although the job was not easy at first, I later adjusted and I’m happy because I can put some food on the table…”

Maria says she cuts the thick grass (Madzhesi) at Tshavhalovhedzi village and hires a car to take them home at Dzanani, in the Nzhelele area.

“I usually pay R60 for a load, but that does not have a serious impact on my profit because people are supporting my business…”

She explains how she makes the Thovho: “After cutting the Madzhesi, I put them in the sun for a few days to get dry. I will then use a coloured rope, supported by stone, to put the grass together. I finally cut the completed stuff carefully to give it a nice look and later put it on sale…”

Maria says she can make at least two Thovhos per day and her prices ranges from R10 to R100 depending on the size desired by the customer. She can at least take R500 home per month, which is better than not doing anything at all.