Marita Kufana

Marita Kufana is 36 years old and lives in Mwasambo village, rural Nkhotakota. Marita has 4 children. She is paraplegic. Previously, she and her children were dependent upon her brother, as Marita was only able to make a very small amount of money doing piece work. Marita took part in the cane furniture training in Nkhotakkota, graduating in September 2021. She learnt how to make stools, tables, chairs, TV stands and display cabinets. She also learnt how to use and look after her tools, how to keep business records, deal with customers and market her goods. She was also taught how to make organic manure. Since graduating, Marita has taught her brother cane furniture and together they make and sell 2 chair sets a month (each set comprises of 4 chairs and a table), earning a profit of 60,000mk. Her brother helps Marita to buy materials and take the products to market. She also makes 5000mk per month from charging mobile phones. Marita is now financially independent and is able to support herself and her family. She has managed to buy goats and has rented land to farm groundnuts. Marita is saving money to buy her own land and has managed to save 100,000mk so far.

Marita and her brother are looking at renting space at a trading center to sell their goods and expand their business.