Election Lethiba dropped out of highschool and later college before he realised he was gifted in the art of carpentry.

The 25-year-old Sekhukhune bred carpenter said he has always known that his skills lie in his hands; he just didn’t know what they would eventually settle on. He has gained some small town fame for his skills that he was even hired by the local high school to fix around 100 broken tables for the new incoming grade eight classes.

“I was not good at school and when I went to do my electrical N2 in college, I realised that this was not what I wanted to do,” he said.

Lethiba who has an unemployed mother and a father who works for a post office said he decided to open a barber shop to keep busy and to make some money.

“One day I was just sitting in the shop when I saw a piece of wire and decided to do something with it. I got some wood and ended up making a chair,” he said.

The father of one said people in his village loved the chair and he decided to make more. This is how his business Election projects was born. 

“I started borrowing tools and even bought myself a drill machine,” he said.

“This is all self-taught, no one showed me how to do it. I just know instinctively how to make furniture. It’s a gift from God.”

Lethiba said his dream is to open up a shop where he can sell furniture that he has made.

“My biggest challenge right now is that I can't afford a lot of the equipment. So I just walk around the shop looking at the machines, but I can't even buy them,” he said.

To keep his business afloat, he rents out his furniture and gazebos to people who are hosting events.

“I don’t only sell the furniture, I can also rent it out,” he said.

The Principal of Fetakgomo Secondary School Ramphelane Sekwati said he was hired for his famous skills.

"He is talented in carpentry and his work impressed the SGB, that is why we hired him," he said.