Buy a sewing machine and employ one worker

Marriam

Mumias, Kenya

Funds disbursed

$0 to go

100% funded of $332 goal

days left

Follow Marriam

How it Works

Entrepreneur

Name

Marriam

Member since

March 2016

On-time repayments

95 installments • 8%

About Me

I trained as a secretary upcountry in 1992 and I could not get employed. I decided to start making use of my hands to earn a living. I would knit sweaters using needles and crotchet vitambaas for people at a few coins. This made me think of opening up a place where people would come for these items. Later, I learned how to make fireless baskets. In our community most people use firewood. Fireless baskets allow you to cook food for a short period of time and then let it sit. The food continues to cook and remains hot for 8 more hours.

I learned that making the covers for these baskets takes a long time and the shape of the cover is not neat enough thus not giving good quality. I was forced to engage someone who has a sewing machine who makes them for me at a fee. I believe if given this loan I will be able to buy my own sewing machine and serve my customers well.

My Business

My business is making fireless baskets. I buy baskets made from reeds and I add value to them by puffing them with cotton waste, black polythene paper and finally black cotton cloth. There is scarcity of firewood yet 90% of the community uses firewood. I thought if I make these baskets available to people, they will have solved partly the problem of firewood, reserve the few trees we have and save time for women. My biggest challenge is that I buy these baskets 200km away, the cotton waste is 30kms away so if I had enough money I would purchase them in bulk to reduce the expenses when doing my purchases. My customers are the communities around and at times some supermarkets are buying them to sell in their shops and in a month i make profits of $ 250 which i use to expand the business and assist my family. I think of expanding my business into a big industry that I may be able to produce for export and even employ some of the youth around who have finished school and cannot get a job. I am proud of my business because I am participating in saving our trees and am able to sustain my family.

Loan Proposal

Given the loan together i will use it to buy a second sewing machine and employ one worker to assist me.This will help increase the speed of production and save time and money. The total cost for the machine and monthly payment to the worker will cost me around $280. I will be able to produce neat and good quality and quantity work that will attract more customers.