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Patrick Chitumba, Midlands Bureau Chief
AN 11-year-old Gweru boy has taken social media by storm after creating sling bags and door mats using empty traditional beer container “scud’’ sealing rings.

The scud is named after the scud missiles the late Iraq leader Saddam Hussein lobbed towards Israel during the First Gulf War.

The sealing rings on the scud are the ones that Nyasha Rambwi uses to make the sling bags and doormats.

The WhatsApp platform is awash with the boy’s pictures and his pieces of craft with people mobilising support to develop the young talent.

Nyasha, who is doing Grade 6 at Bumburwi Primary School in Mkoba suburb, Gweru, takes two hours to make a single bag.

“I am Nyasha Rambwi and I am in Grade 6 at Bumburwi Primary School. I craft sling bags and door mats from those empty scud (opaque/traditional beer) sealing rings,” he said.

“With the right quantity of sealing rings, I take only two hours to make a sling bag. I also take almost the same time to make a door mat.” He sells the sling bag and the door mats for US$2.

Nyasha said he collects the sealing rings outside bottle stores and bars at local shopping centres. He said when he started collecting the sealing rings, some people thought that he had lost his mind.

“When imbibers buy a scud, they toss away the sealing ring. So, I then go around picking the sealing rings from outside the bars and clubs in my area. After which I start making the sling bags and or the door mats,” said Nyasha.

“It’s still a new product and I have found a market for this. I have sold some to many people. I’m looking for more markets so that I make more money from this piece of art.”

The boy, whose dream is to become a police officer, said he developed the interest of making his products during the August school holidays.

“I was roaming around at the local shops when I saw sealing rings. What came to my mind was that I could put those rings to good use,” he said.

“I started intertwining them and from nowhere, I had made something like a handle. I developed further interest in intertwining them and that is how bags started shaping up, and now it is now in the blood.”

Asked why he wants to become a cop, Nyasha said he admires the police uniform and the discipline they show during State functions like the Defence Forces Day commemorations.

His Mother, Ms Auxillia Matarise who runs a flea market at Mkoba 6 Shopping Centre, said her son started by crocheting using strings and ropes.

“He was fascinated with crocheting at first and the next thing he started making the sling bags from the sealing rings. I didn’t discourage him, but encouraged him having realised that he had passion in what he is doing,” she said.

Ms Matarise said Nyasha, who is her last born in a family of four children, needs to be supported for her to nurture his God given talent.

“Yes, my son started on his own, but he has not found people or organisations to support him. He has the potential to go far if he gets the necessary support,” she said.

“He has shown that he can use his hands and that talent must be nurtured hence I appeal for support from well-wishers.”

In his own right, Nyasha has already embraced the new education curriculum that thrives to build well-roundedness, critical thinking and entrepreneurial mindsets.

The new curriculum seeks to produce a generation that is innovative.