A leaking roof at home triggered an idea for construction industry businesswoman to enter the roof repair sector and she never looked back.

Soweto-born Juliet Tshoke went to the extent of co-founding professional body for the sector – Professional Roof Repair and Waterproofing Association – in 2019.

She shares how she saw an opportunity in the roofing industry as the quality of workmanship in the sector was declining. 

“My first project was at my own house," Tshoke revealed. 

“When there was a leaking situation at my house the people I had called to come fix it  didn’t do a proper job. I believe that if you want something done right, you need to do it yourself.”

Tshoke is now a big player in the integrated sector of roofing, roof repairs and waterproofing within the construction industry.

The 52-year-old continued: “We shouldn’t only be focusing on construction in building terms. I have built and expanded my own house. I can tell you what happens from the foundation, the wall plates up to my roof.  I got my experience from that and I’m taking that experience from home building into the industry development.”

Tshoke was among hundreds of women who attended the Women Indaba conference in Kimberley, Northern Cape, at the weekend, which was hosted by the department of human settlements.

The conference focused on the theme "accelerating socio-economic opportunities for women empowerment". 

Clara Sodlulashe-Mwenze, 57, who was a speaker at the conference, was granted her first project through the South African Women in Construction as a main contractor to build low-cost houses in Palm Springs, Gauteng, in 2004 and 2005. 

“I built only a 100 houses. Whenever I see those houses when I pass by, a great sense of joy and pride fills me up and I feel great as that was 2004 and now it’s 2023. They have been there for more than a decade [and keep] reminding me of where I started,” she said.

Sodlulashe-Mwenze, of Sedibeng district (the Vaal), said one of the biggest criticisms she got from working on the project was not peers but from the beneficiaries of the houses. 

“I have received criticism in terms of progress that was delayed by the lack of resources and material. If I am a beneficiary, expecting someone to finish my house, especially if I live in a shack, I’m going to constantly want to know what’s going on with my house.”  

A panelist at the conference, Thandi Solo, 44, said she was an accountant before she went into construction. She shared that initially her intention was to assist her husband with his company.

“I resigned in 2010 and started helping my husband fulltime and three years later, I started going on my own after participating in a development programme by the department of public works.

“During the incubation period, I learnt a lot but at the same time, it is difficult to come out of that [programme] and enter the real world,” said Solo. 

She said one of the many challenges she experienced while starting up was the perception that she knew nothing because she was a woman. 

“On my first project post incubation, I got a tender for a road and there was a man who I worked with who undermined me because I am a woman.

“The challenges of going into construction, going into mainstream competition is that instead of competitors looking at you on merit, they look at you as a woman and thus [think you’re] not capable. They sit at tables you’re not invited to and make deals where our input isn’t valued,” said Solo. 

High commissioner of the Griqua Aboriginal, Rosemary Rodrigues, said she stayed true to her culture of strong women by going back to how the KhoiSan women used to build their homes. 

“Dagga reeds were used to build Khoisan homes and they used that as it was one of the strongest materials accessible to them. We want to bring that technique back and we have signed an agreement with a university in Italy which will help with development of hemp blocks. Hemp is a cannabis plant grown for its fibre, which is used in textiles and construction. 

“We will be working very close with the Italians to manufacture these blocks for building homes as they are sustainable and strong. They don’t burn while they keep the building cool.

"What people don’t realise is that this technique was discovered by women because they were the ones who built the houses and we will continue to hold that culture that was started many years ago,” Rodrigues said. 

mashalek@sowetan.co.za