By Matṧeliso Phulane
From selling chopped vegetable from house to house as well as at the events, Lerato Mohasi decided to venture into chopping and canning business called; Chop a Crop (Pty) Ltd which began in August last year.
Mohasi preserves foods such as chillies, tomatoes, carrots, green pepper beetroot and many more.
In an interview with theReporter this week, Mohasi said she was inspired to start her business after her long struggle in hunting for the job upon the completion of her tertiary level education.
“I started this business in 2019 selling chopped vegetables from door to door. That was after having struggled to find the job after my graduation.
“People became to know me at that time, and they started booking me at their events to chop them various vegetables in large quantities,” she said.
However, Mohasi indicated that, her business could not run smoothly in 2020 during Covid 19 lockdown which restricted movements. Consequently, she was supposed to stop delivery products to the customers.
“Having had no place to work for my business then, I strictly had to work from home and that became even worse during the lockdown because I was unable to do deliveries to their homes.
She further expressed it was through her partner’s advice to start canning food just like her grandmother used to do and engaged all the skills and knowledge she learned from grannie.
The idea basically reminded her just the way she was raised by her grandmother, thus she thought of not only chopping vegetables but also to preserve them for a longer period.
“My story starts at a very young age when I used to stay with my grandmother. She used to can everything from figs, tomatoes, peaches, prunes, peaches and pears. She would also dry and preserve each one of those foods,” Mohasi said.
She added that, her idea of preserving became more nourished after she noticed that during the lockdown people did not have an opportunity to sell their crops and they ended up being destroyed.
Also heavy showers of rain which occurred last year destroyed most crops hence she began selling canned vegetables due to their low production.
Currently, she is working alone because she does not have enough space to work from and is looking for one so as to employ some workers.
To make her products, she highlighted that her suppliers are the local farmers and sources ingredients from the supermarkets. She buys bottles collected by some while the lids are obtained from the shops.
The 35 year-old Mohasi was born and bred in Maqhaka, in Berea district and is a mother of a daughter.
Chop and Crop owner, attended her primary school at Maseru Lesotho Evangelical Church (LEC) and went to Sefika High School.
She then pursued her studies in Bachelor Degree in Business Administration, Entrepreneurship and Leadership studies at Tsiba University in Cape Town, South Africa where she graduated in 2013.
Speaking of the challenges she faces, she said at the beginning, potential customers could not understand about her trade. But now they know more about her small enterprise.
Soon, she hopes to supply several supermarkets.
She has is experiencing an insufficient supply from the local farmers as required fruits and vegetables are scarce.
Lack of proper selling shelter is also hampering her progress. As a result, she has to stay home during inclement weather.
Mohasi said now that she clearly understands her business needs, she urged to be assisted with location for her business, production as well as machines to cover the bottles. She also pleaded for storage where she will keep the finished products.
She said even though the business sometimes becomes bad, she still manages to fetch M2 000 in three weeks or per month “if there is good production to supply the customers.”
She encouraged potential entrepreneurs not to be afraid to start businesses as they might not know what the future holds for their businesses.
“As for those who are already in business, they should understand that business is not always constant. It is a circle thus if they encounter challenges in the beginning they should not give up.
“They should also learn to be sustainable and consistent, otherwise people will never trust their product or their service if the owner does not have an integrity and faith to themselves,” Mohasi said.
She is dreaming to see her business in a position where it can export internationally and expanding country wide to create jobs for Basotho.
The price list for carrots cost M45 whole beetroot costs M50, green pepper is M45 available in 750ml glass jar. Only chilli paste available in 350ml is available at M50 per jar.
Products are being delivered around Maseru, but outside town she charges extra as per local public transport. For orders, people can contact her on: 266 56801009 or 266 69446328 or send an Email at Chopacrop@gmail.com
Chop a Crop is located in Mokorotlong opposite Victoria hotel in Maseru.
