LUCKY Mthiyane is down in the dumps every day… and happy to be there!
With an entrepreneurial spirit as large as his creative instincts, Lucky can inevitably be found hard at work at the Richards Bay municipal landfill site, converting discarded wooden pallets into furniture.
And such is his talent and skill – and the demand for his finished products – that he also employs four additional handymen to assist with the workload.
‘As the firstborn in a very large, poor rural family, I was always destined to be a bread winner,’ says the eloquent, self-taught carpenter.
‘When I was in Grade 6, I started doing garden work in Empangeni and I was fortunate enough to be employed by a retired Spoornet man, who not only gave me landscaping skills but also taught me to speak English well.
‘After leaving school I worked for various construction companies and then in 2005 began at the waste recycling plant at the dump site, sorting the various products such as plastics and glass.
‘But I saw the potential of converting the discarded wood into furniture. Craftwork is something inside me – if I can visualise it, I can make it.’
And Lucky certainly can build just about any wooden item, from dog kennels to tables, picket fences, garden sheds, flower boxes and anything else ‘made to order’.
‘I have received support from the City of uMhlathuze and the industries in Alton, who deliver their old pallets to me.
‘Thanks to word of mouth the business has steadily rolled in, also because of my low prices and quality of workmanship.
‘Not only am I doing something useful by reducing waste volume, I am also putting bread on my table and the tables of those I employ, while teaching them skills.’
The 37-year-old has a special area he works from, next to the Alton landfill site gate and can be contacted on 078 8621331.
