Self-employment, the key to success

by Surekha Galagoda

Every person has a dream but the way each person fulfils his dream differs. Sunima Jayantha of Nalladarankattuwa, off Chilaw realised his dream through hard work, dedication and the love for his job.

He dreams and plans analysing his strengths and weaknesses to make his dream a reality. Sunima Jayantha learnt the art of making cement pots under one of his brothers in Colombo and after some time returned to his village Nalladarankattuwa and ventured on his own by making cement flower pots.

"I had Rs. 1000 and I started by purchasing one bag of cement but it took me several days to sell my goods. This was a very difficult period. In November 1997, I heard of the Agri Mart Foundation (AMF). It was like a god-send. I contacted the officials and became a member and within six months I obtained a loan of Rs. 15,000. My mother also raised some money by raising a loan at a monthly interest rate of 5%. By this I collected Rs. 40,000.

Having paid an advance of Rs. 10,000 I ordered fibre structures to make the concrete pots and grills. The moulds made my work somewhat easy but since I had only a few I had to get up in the wee hours of the morning and work till late at night to make two pots and grills daily to meet the orders.

He also registered his workshop as Sunala Concrete works with advice and guidance from the AMF officials. He worked without any assistance for several years until he felt the need to employ staff.

In 1999 he was selected by the AMF for the Agromart farmer Awareness Study Tour to Thailand. It was a three-week program and we visited many self-employment ventures from where I gained a wealth of experience. The venture I enjoyed most was making dustbins out of used tyres. I requested some tools but they declined. I tried it again when I returned to Sri Lanka but as we didn't have the tools I could not succeed.

However I am determined to make it a success.

Cleanliness and packaging are two lessons I learnt during the tour and I have put them into practice. It has brought me good results, said Jayantha.

At present he has about five to six persons working under him and they are paid between Rs. 400-500 per day according to their performance and experience. I treat them as my own and help them and I believe it is one of the reasons for my success.

I am dedicated and love my job very much and will not hesitate to venture into any area in this field. I have now moved into making sculptures and it is lucrative.

Though I used to make cement blocks earlier I gave it up sometime back as there is a problem of obtaining sand. Jayantha is married and is the proud father of three children. The eldest will sit for the G.C.E O/L examination this year while the second child passed the scholarship examination in 2005 and the youngest will sit for the scholarship examination this year.

Perseverance and dedication together with the support from AMF has helped Jayantha to lead a better life and respect not only for him and his family but also for his workers and their families as well. He said had he not ventured on his own he would not have been so happy and encourages people to start self-employment ventures.

He is methodical and is confident of success. Jayantha says that if he has a vehicle he could do more business as there are people who prefer to have their goods delivered at their doorstep. I can get a vehicle on lease but I don't wan't to get into deeper debt, and my plan is to buy a vehicle next year.

His main strength is his staff, workshop and sales outlet on the main road. Jayantha's products are reasonably priced. A set of garden chairs and a table cost Rs. 4800 while a large pot is Rs. 1000. The Field visit was organised by Enter-Growth, ILO in collaboration with ProMis, GTZ.

[email protected]