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Rejoyce Sibanda, Chronicle Reporter

ANDANI Mkwebu rarely tells people that he started his thatching business at 19 because most of them laugh and dismiss his life testimony as nothing but a tall tale. 

But it is not an exaggeration — he started when he was a teenager after promising himself that the struggles that he went through trying to attain an education would not define his future.

The 39-year-old man from Bulawayo’s Nkulumane 5 suburb is married to Rachel Mkwebu (36) and they have three children.

Mkwebu has his Xhosa origins to thank for his grass-thatching prowess. Growing up in Mbembesi, he found himself embracing his culture and soon that culture became the means to putting food on the table for his family.  

He established his thatching company in 2002 under the name Ngcongola Thatchers. Ngcongola means reeds in a river. Like reeds standing strong in the water, Mkwebu says he has weathered many storms. 

“I grew up at a time when my parents were struggling with money to take me to school. Most of the time I would not attend school and so during that time I would go to the elderly people who did thatching work, watch them do the job and even give a hand when I was asked to. I would also attend gatherings where people would meet to work ‘‘amalima’’ and learn a lot. This went on and on until I fell in love with this kind of work and so I grabbed the opportunity to pursue a business in it since I also lacked funds for education,” said Mkwebu.

Mkwebu began thatching in Mbembesi before he moved to Bulawayo in 2000. 

“I am an independent thatcher and I have even managed to teach and train some of the youth on how to do the job. Some of them have left working for me and have started their businesses. As we are speaking now, I have about 15 young men working for me. 

“However, advertising my business has been giving me problems but I have been trying very hard. I have put up posters around certain suburbs, shopping centres or anywhere where people can see my contact details so that I get more customers and showcase the talent that I put into my work,” Mkwebu said.

Mkwebu says the fierce competition in the thatching business has helped him to improve and perfect his craft. 

“I am an artist in thatching because I can design a structure of a roof that you won’t find anywhere, all the creativity is in my head. It is like a gift and many people like and appreciate my designs. 

“I have also learnt to write words and draw animals on the grass-thatched roofs which is something that I was not taught by anyone or that I saw somewhere. I thatch grass roofs for houses, lodges, cultural houses and constructed shade structures in game parks or any building that needs to be grass-thatched.”

Mkwebu is an ambitious man. He wants to be more than a creator of beautiful grass roofs. He wishes to be a supplier of thatching materials since he has been losing some contracts because of not being able to provide both.

Andani Mkwebu with some of his works

Mkwebu said thatching in rural and urban areas is different because the jobs require different approaches in patterns, bag batching, measurements and levelling, designs, decorations, type of roofs and purpose of the structure being thatched.

“I liked the thatching business with a passion because it is well paying. It even becomes more convenient in the sense that it is on demand. What I have observed so far is that thatching work is loved and appreciated by most white people. If one is to take note of the grass-thatched houses in the city, most of them are owned by these white people. It is always nice and a pleasure to work with them because when you put your all into the work and produce the best of what was expected, they give extra cash as a way of appreciation,” he said.

Thatching work is not easy as some people may assume and it comes with challenges. Climbing rooftops is very dangerous. Mkwebu says it is common for thatchers to fall and break a leg or arm. The dust they inhale when they are working the grass exposes them to tuberculosis. — @ReeSibanda