Unemployed women from Ekuthuleni Informal Settlement make their own charcoal
Ncamsile Majola said unemployment and a lack of electricity saw her putting her skills to practice.
Kwa-Thema – Unemployed women from Ekuthuleni Informal Settlement are making their own charcoal to cut the cost of expensive coal and electricity coupons and the rolling power cuts.
Every morning at 05:00, a group can be seen digging up charcoal dust mixed with soil from abandoned train tracks.
They then dig up clay soil from a nearby river stream and once this is done, the mixture is combined with water, shaped into small balls and left to dry in the sun for a day before they are ready to be used.
Ncamsile Majola explained that she learned the skill from her grandmother when she was younger, living in KwaZulu Natal.
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“This was part of my daily responsibilities as a teenager and when I moved here in 2007 I realised that the cost of living is too expensive.
“At the time I was unemployed and the informal settlement didn’t have electricity connection, we used paraffin stoves and brazier stoves which I could barely afford,” she explained.
Majola decided to start making her own charcoal in a bid to cut costs.
When residents saw her clay coals they requested that she share the skill with them and even offered to buy from her.
One resident, Queen Skakane said the homemade coals are reliable and cheaper.
“With 10 balls of her charcoal, I am able to cook and warm up the shack. This is cheaper than the R90 for the 50kg of coals that only last for a few days.
“Everything is expensive; we all have to find ways to survive,” she concluded.
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