After Ramasela Matsemela dropped out of pharmacy school, she decided to learn how to make bread in order to feed her family. Her bread, which is sold in GaMadiba in Mokopane, Limpopo, has become so popular that she has been able to create employment for 10 people in the space of a year.
The 33-year-old said she starts baking at 1am every day to ensure that her customers receive a fresh delivery of bread in the morning. Her bakery, which she has named “Ramariz Bakery’, is operated from her home. “I knew nothing about baking. I was a pharmacy student but I dropped out because I was not doing well,” she said.
Ramasela Matsemela's business puts bread on the table
After Ramasela Matsemela dropped out of pharmacy school, she decided to learn how to make bread in order to feed her family. Her bread, which is sold in GaMadiba in Mokopane, Limpopo, has become so popular that she has been able to create employment for 10 people in the space of a year.
The 33-year-old said she starts baking at 1am every day to ensure that her customers receive a fresh delivery of bread in the morning. Her bakery, which she has named “Ramariz Bakery’, is operated from her home. “I knew nothing about baking. I was a pharmacy student but I dropped out because I was not doing well,” she said.
Matsemela said after she dropped out of school she tried to get a job in a bakery at one of the big supermarket chains to learn how to bake. “I was willing to work for free because I just wanted to learn how to make bread so I can open my own bakery. But unfortunately the manager said no because of the company policy,” she said.
She eventually got a job at a small bakery but they only allowed her to package the bread. “I realised that I was wasting my time, so I decided to use up my savings to hire a professional to teach me how to bake,” said Matsemela.
The business woman said she baked 20 loaves in her first batch that sold out immediately. “I took a wheelbarrow and I didn’t even finish one street. My bread was sold out very quickly,” she said. “People were telling me that my bread tastes delicious and reminds them of bread from the olden days.”
Matsemela said she quickly battled to cope on her own and first hired two extra hands to help her deliver the bread around the village. Now 10 people help her bake and deliver the bread on a daily basis. “It really feels good to have been able to create employment for other people in my village,” she said.
At the moment she is using two bicycles, wheelbarrows and trolleys to deliver the bread around. “Right now I am focusing on making bread but one day I will be making other baked goods,” she said.
Her white bread is sold at R10 while her brown bread is sold at R9 a loaf.