More than 40 000 jobs will be created when the newly launched sisal industrialization project at Muchipisi in Limpopo is fully operational.

This was confirmed by Mr Alex Mabunda, the project manager, during the launch which took place at the Shingwedzi multi-purpose hall last week Friday.

The project embraces a processing and spinning plant that employs locally grown natural fibres in the production process. The project, Khindlimuka Development Project Cooperative, is a pilot project and is the second in the whole of Southern Africa, which seeks to revive the defunct sisal plantations that were once seen as development in many rural communities.

The projects were dumped by the new dispensation after they were found not be financially viable. The new project, which is community-driven and run as a cooperative, will use all the sisal that will be produced at all the plantations as many tons will be needed every month. The project is funded by the Department of Trade and Industries and employs people from neighbouring villages.

The project was started in 2003 with only 10 people. “We virtually started from nothing as we did not have any funding, using our own contributions and old-fashioned implements like knives and gathering the seeds from wherever we could,” said Mabunda.

He said they approached the DTI fully armed with their business plans in 2005. “They gave us an initial R2,7 million and added a further R15 million in 2006 after assessing our progress.”

The director of innovation and technology at DTI, Mr Ephraim Baloyi, said it was their department’s wish that all sisal projects which had collapsed should be revived. “We looked at the viability of the project and saw some potential and we funded them. Remember this is just a pilot project which, if it succeeds, will be spread countrywide and will help create much-needed jobs in the rural communities,” he said.

He said the good thing about the project is that sisal plants, which are planted in plantations surrounding the processing operation, are harvested and used to make fibre for a number of applications.

The project had already produced its first fibre, which had been sold to customers in Botswana and Zimbabwe, where the fibre was used to manufacture rope. Baloyi confirmed that 103 people were already employed at the plant, with that number set to increase to 200.

Baloyi said the DTI was now looking for other industrial and energy opportunities and was taking the process forward as they realised that there was a need for the project to use the waste to make methanol which, in turn, could be used for generating electricity for the locals. He added that this would also assist in reducing the processing operation´s reliance on electricity from power-stressed national utility Eskom. “At the moment, we are still looking for possible investors for the project.We are in consultation with the Development Bank of Southern Africa, the Industrial Development Corporation, the Public Investment Corporation and the National Empowerment Fund to try and see if it can be advanced to a bankable stage," explained Baloyi.

The deputy-director general in the department, Mr Sipho Zikhode, said an amount of R30 million was put aside for the revival of the sisal project. He said the success of the project will be the only measure to determine whether to expand to other areas or not. “We know you have challenges but would like to see them changed into progress,” he said. He encouraged people to use locally grown plants and not overseas ones.

Fibres produced from sisal plants could be used for manufacturing a number of products, including carpets, car upholstery and plasterboards. The leaves of the sisal plant are only ready for harvesting after five years, after which the leaves are generally harvested and then put through a decorticator to obtain the fibre.