By Foibe Paavo
Swakopmund, Aug. 30 — “I do not speak English at all, and it’s by the grace of God that non-native customers get to understand the message I’m trying to convey,” said Ndapewoshali Petrus, a wife and mother to five children.
Petrus has been selling at the market for over 15 years. She buys and makes her own bracelets and neckpieces made from beads and different crystals to support her five children as their father also does not have a good job.
“Business is sometimes discouraging though, due to high competition in the market. And the discouragement is really tempting … sometimes I even drop everything and just travel back to the north to work in my field for a while because my children also need to eat.
Petrus said that months can go by without getting a single customer, as not everyone knows the importance of beads and most of her customers are the youth from other towns and tourists that travel to the coast for holidays.
She added that she spends her mornings and afternoons sitting under the sun making them beads only to go home with no sales.
“At times customers demand to get items at cheaper than the usual price and because I would be desperate to at least sell something, I end up giving in to the customers’ demands.”
She further said she needs money to buy crafted wood products just to beautify her stand and to add to her beads’ handiwork as it seems to be working well for others.
“Years ago, when I first started selling my products, times were good. I could take home between N$5 000 and N$7 000 – but all that is history now. Times have really become hard. Even if I get a few customers now, it’s still not going to be the same as before.”
Petrus added that she’s not really the type to whine over employment as she is not educated.
“I never went to school. I used to herd cattle and work in fields because elders used to tell us that we can’t eat at school. That’s why I try my best to sacrifice for my children so they do not have to live their lives the way I have lived mine,” she said. – foibe@namibiadailynews.info
