Activist turns into winemaker
Human rights activist Mashudu Mfomande's transition to the business world seems to be a great move as she keeps on thriving.
Mfomande’s love for the finer things in life has led her into establishing her own wine brand, Mash Wines in August last year.
Now, year later, she will be launching her own gin, called Mash Gin.
She told Herald that the journey has not been an easy one, but looking back now, it was worth her while.
“I had to learn how to do business the hard way. I had a perspective that people who know you, will support you.
“The realisation that this is not the case was heartbreaking, but I had to go through it.
Also read: Good Samaritan gives lost laptop back to owner
“However there are people who have been really supportive, especially when learning that I’m a black female winemaker.
“They were mostly people who did not know me.
“So my advice to other entrepreneurs is not to build your business around friends and family. Instead, work hard and do your research and people will support you,” she explained. 
She also added that the best way to follow your dreams is by starting and not procrastinate because experience is the best teacher.
She is currently based in Tzaneen, but was born and bred in Lulekani township in Phalaborwa where her passion for serving the community began.
Also read: Hoedspruit Farmer’s Market back in business
Her love for people led her to establish the Nkateko Community Project which was aimed at educating the youth about HIV.
She then joined the Prevention of Mother To Child Treatment (PMTCT) in Bushbuckridge where she was a counsellor at various clinics.
Her activism started from there and she joined the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) for a while and eventually worked for Amnesty International as the Limpopo provincial organiser in the advocacy program.
However, in 2015 she needed a break and embarked on a business venture and has not looked back.
She said that the lockdown has presented her with the opportunity to publish her journal collection and as a result has managed to compile four books and co-authored a book with her sister and nephew.
“Despite all the challenges that came with Covid-19, 2020 has been a great year thus far.
“I believe that you have to be positive even in a negative environment. Perception is everything, how you look at a thing, is how it looks back at you,” she concluded. For more information, go to her Facebook page Mashudu Mfomande or Mash Wines.
