Koketso Sedumedi from Masutlhe Village outside Mahikeng, in North West Province, is an ambitious entrepreneur with experience in Visual Arts, interior, exhibition, jewellery and fashion design using natural elements with a proudly South African stamp.
To build a means of reducing poverty and creating jobs, she used a calabash shell she found lying on the ground in her grandmother's garden in Matlapaneng, a rural community in Taung.
"My grandmother told me that my great uncle plants them in Ganyesa, a rural village in the same province, and it is a staple food for his family. The community also uses the dried shell of the calabash to store water, and milk, as it has a cooling effect and significant nutritional and medicinal value.
The idea began to flourish in my mind - to explore this fruit, experiment with different techniquesand create arts and crafts that speak to our identity as South Africans. I also realised that working with this calabash could be a vehicle for poverty alleviation and job creation," said Sedumedi.
She has focused on developing Ketso'Koi Creations as a brand and craft leader. She firmly believes she can eradicate poverty by identifying art and craft initiatives and serving as their ambassador, highlighting talent in the North West Province.
Ketso'Koi Creations is an art and crafts manufacturing corporation and brand registered in 2006. It was born out of a lifelong passion for creating innovative products utilising natural, organic materials that embrace African design's beauty while celebrating inherently artistic cultural influences.
Since she joined PAP (People Alleviating Poverty) in 2003, a life skills development programme established by her late business partner and mentor Ricky Munnik, that helped alleviate poverty and had a positive impact on the lives of numerous young, previously unemployed men and women who now have the knowledge and skills to generate their income and to afford employment and training opportunities to other young people from a similar background, Sedumedi never looked back from driving a vehicle to poverty alleviation and job creation.
"Right from conception, Ketso'Koi in 2006 to 2008, the journey was incredible with my business partner and mentor Ricky Munnik by my side. Although he had quadriplegia, Ricky explored this concept with me, and we realised many possibilities. Ricky inculcated the real essence of what skills development entails. He made me also realise that we need not go out looking for diamonds when they are right on our doorstep," she said.
Although she had experienced a setback in her business due to the death of her mentor and the Covid-19 pandemic, she remained committed to her art and her mission of eradicating poverty and generating jobs.
"My challenge has been my instability since the passing of my mentor. I had to find the confidence to carry on and do everything in the business myself. Covid-19 also had a huge impact on the business, and we are gradually recovering from the economic blow," said Sedumedi.
She has implemented several programmes through her business that has helped people find work and grow, including: facilitating a handicrafts and life skills development training program that trained 55 unemployed men and women through the office of the mayor in the Kagisano Local Municipality of North West in 2010 and employed 14 young unemployed men and women in the village of Masutlhe 2 through the EPWP development program offered by the Department of Economic Development in 2013-2015.
Since 2015, she has joined hands with groups of Non-Profit organisations and worked with communities in Gauteng, Mpumalanga,and Plettenberg Bay and has now returned to Mahikeng.
Sedumedi opted to share her passion and expertise, helping revitalise her province's economy and skill set at a time when many people have moved on in search of brighter pastures abroad. She keeps doing everything she can to reduce poverty and create sustainable jobs.
"Ketso'Koi now offers DIY Workshops as well as training in arts and crafts for the young and old to help you unleash your potential," concluded Sedumedi.
