Hwange entrepreneurs turn coal dust into cash with brick moulding ventures

BY NOTHANDO DUBE

Hwange entrepreneurs are making brisk business from bricks that they mould using coal dust , which they sell to customers from as far as Harare.

Coal dust is a fine powdered form of the fossil mineral, which is created by the crushing, grinding or pulverising of coal.

In Hwange town, coal dust is found in huge quantities because of the mining activities and the processing of coal by various players.

Nkosiyapha Kufa (26) is one of the entrepreneurs, who are taking advantage of the resource to make a living through a brick moulding business.

Kufa, who is now legally registered as a brick moulder at Five Miles area under the Hwange Rural District Council (HRDC), says the business has changed his fortunes.

The major raw materials used by his business are coal, water and slurry (coal dust) that he uses to make the much sought after red bricks.

Kufa says the bricks have become very popular because they are strong and are moisture resistant.

“We mix the slurry (coal dust) with soil and and water to make these durable bricks,” he said.

“The coal is used in the ovens for heating these brick, but it is not easy.

“So a workforce of 10 people can take 14 days to mould about 10 000 bricks.”

Kufa said often female employs worked in the ovens while their male counterparts moulded the bricks.

“The bricks take seven days to ‘cook’ in the oven and the workforce is paid US$10 per 10 000 bricks, so l work with a target,” he said.

In Hwange’s Five Miles area, a group of 32 individuals have been given permission by the HRDC to venture into the brick moulding business.

They were allocated a piece of land to conduct their business, which has become an important source of scarce jobs.

The brick-moulders, who are licensed by the Environmental Management Agency, follow recommendations made by the agency which emphasises on the need for proper 0environmental care and tree planting around the areas where they operate from.

Kufa said although the business was rewarding, they faced varuous challenges.

“People are not reliable, some come with requests of advance payments to address their needs and they disappear once you pay them,” he said.

“I could not sleep the other day when it rained and I was thinking about the potential losses.

” I had a lot of ‘uncooked’ bricks and I feared for damage.”

Apart from operational challenges, brick moulders say lack of support by the government and the entry of Chinese companies into business, is threatening their survival.

For Sino Hydro Company, which is partnering the Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC) in the Hwange Power Station expansion project buys its bricks from Zimbabwe Zhing-Zhong Bricks, another Chinese entity.

Hwange Central Member of Parliament Daniel Molokele said the Chinese company was choking the local brick producers.