Meet the self-funded sisters bringing SA its 1st plastic bricks
- A pair of sisters have created a plastic brick
- The new building material is made from recycled plastic
- The brick is particularly good at insulating sound
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Sisters Kedibone Refilwe Tsiloane and Kekeletso Pulane Tsiloane from Sasolburg, Free State have brought something brand new to South Africa - a plastic brick.
The two sisters, Kedibone (29) and Kekeletso (26) were not new to construction, their dad had a construction company and they learned a lot while helping with the basic bookkeeping.
Briefly.co.za learned that Thabo, their dad, was happy to help his daughters name their business which is called Ramtsilo Manufacturing & Construction.
"People have no idea that there are competitions out there that can assist you financially," says Kedibone adding that these have helped solidify their business.
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"When my father named our business, he wanted something meaningful. Ram was my grandfather's nickname, and Tsilo is one of our clan names," says Kedibone.
"The reason we do what we do is that we know it will create sustainable jobs for people in our communities, and also,
The plastic bricks are particularly good at insulating noise and are thinner and lighter than traditional bricks.
Since starting their company in 2013 the sisters have come a long way and have worked on numerous projects according to w24.com.
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"One of the most significant projects we worked on is the construction of low-cost housing, and the biggest order was delivered to a hardware store in Northern Cape.
In October 2019, Kedibone decided to quit her auditing job and fully take control of the business, with her sister, who is currently studying civil engineering. "We only started with about R5 000, which we used for the prototype. Then the rest of the money came from my pocket since between me and my sister I was the one who was working," says Kedibone.
"One of the challenges that we faced and still are facing, is sometimes not being taken seriously, people questioning whether we would be able to deliver the work. We are not just black females, we also look young, so that creates a barrier."
The Department of Trade and Industry has allocated R5 million for people to fund prototypes and Kedibone urges people to do as much research as possible.
"People have no idea that there are competitions out there that can assist you financially," says Kedibone adding that these have helped solidify their business.
Earlier this month, the ladies, who run Plasti-Bricks, went viral on Mzansi social media after Twitter parody account Man's Not Barry Roux posted their story online.
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Source: Briefly News
