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Business Digest Success Stories Flowerpots business takes root in Dar es Salaam
Business Digest Success Stories Flowerpots business takes root in Dar es Salaam
DAR ES SALAAM, TANZANIA - Flowerpots are everywhere, from
five star hotels, to lodges to cafeterias’ and on many streets in Dar es
Salaam.
Also, one can find them in homes, city municipal gardens to city bars and restaurants.
For Herman Mabiki a flowerpot maker located at Mwenge, 13 kilometers north of Dar es Salaam, most of the customers who buy flowerpots are the residents of Dar es Salaam.
“They usually buy them for decors in their homes and or for different functions like weddings and birthday parties,” said Mabiki.
(Above John Julius makes his final touches on the painting a flowerpot, below are some of the finished products Photo By Kenan Kalagho))
He reveals that he makes two different types of flowerpots, those used to plant in natural fresh flowers which are smaller in size than flowerpots that are used to place in secondary or plastic flowers displayed in hotels and different luxurious places.
“You cannot grow flowers using these big pots because they are thin in size and tall and usually they don’t allow free air ventilation for the flower to grow well.
So planting a natural flower in these pots would automatically make a flower to shrink,” Mabiki says adding that the larger flower pots are only preferred for plastic flower décors.
To Mabiki, the business requires huge sums of capital because one needs to have bags of cement, and soil to mix which both needs to be bought while at the same time employing a number of artists to mould both the flowerpot and painting the pot with enticing colored painted pictures that will move customers.
Making flower pots
“We normally take three days to mould these flowerpots where a 50kg sachet is usually filled with soils after it has been sewed to have a pots shape where it is filled with sand soil and then start coating the outside shaped sachet with cement,” Mabiki says
The shaped flowerpots are then watered to keep them free from cracking for three days after which one can starts doing the painting and final touches.
Mabiki says most of molders lack painting knowledge which forces them to import other artists to do the job on their behalf.
The price of the pots
“We usually pay them between Tsh3, 000 to 5,000 ($1.85 and $3) per flowerpot depending on the type of painting one applies to the port as some color decors are pretty much expensive,” Mabiki notes.
He says that depending on the size of a flowerpot, the price can range from Tsh15,000 to Tsh45,000 ($9.29 and $27.89) each whereas planted flowers cost between Tsh10,000 and 15,000 ($6.19 and $9.29) depending on the size.
Some customers usually prefer buying both the flowerpot and flowers at the same location. Some of the flowers take up to two years to grow to a stage where they are sold for a better price.
Mabiki says while he started with a capital of less than Tsh.150, 000 ($92) he now boosts having grown his business to a capital of more than Tsh3, 000,000 ($1.859) which he says helps him educate his children who are in primary schools.
For Ms Adelina Milaji, the hotel supervisor at one of the hotels in Dar says flowerpots are as important as picture flames when it comes to beautifying both the hotel surroundings and inside parts of the hotel especially, the reception room.
“First impression of the hotel can either scare a tourist and or make a tourist to lodge at your hotel. It is always important for hotels owners to make their surroundings attractive by planting flowers and or place different flowerpots both inside and outside of the hotel surroundings” Milaji says.
Also, one can find them in homes, city municipal gardens to city bars and restaurants.
For Herman Mabiki a flowerpot maker located at Mwenge, 13 kilometers north of Dar es Salaam, most of the customers who buy flowerpots are the residents of Dar es Salaam.
“They usually buy them for decors in their homes and or for different functions like weddings and birthday parties,” said Mabiki.
He reveals that he makes two different types of flowerpots, those used to plant in natural fresh flowers which are smaller in size than flowerpots that are used to place in secondary or plastic flowers displayed in hotels and different luxurious places.
“You cannot grow flowers using these big pots because they are thin in size and tall and usually they don’t allow free air ventilation for the flower to grow well.
So planting a natural flower in these pots would automatically make a flower to shrink,” Mabiki says adding that the larger flower pots are only preferred for plastic flower décors.
To Mabiki, the business requires huge sums of capital because one needs to have bags of cement, and soil to mix which both needs to be bought while at the same time employing a number of artists to mould both the flowerpot and painting the pot with enticing colored painted pictures that will move customers.
Making flower pots
“We normally take three days to mould these flowerpots where a 50kg sachet is usually filled with soils after it has been sewed to have a pots shape where it is filled with sand soil and then start coating the outside shaped sachet with cement,” Mabiki says
The shaped flowerpots are then watered to keep them free from cracking for three days after which one can starts doing the painting and final touches.
Mabiki says most of molders lack painting knowledge which forces them to import other artists to do the job on their behalf.
The price of the pots
“We usually pay them between Tsh3, 000 to 5,000 ($1.85 and $3) per flowerpot depending on the type of painting one applies to the port as some color decors are pretty much expensive,” Mabiki notes.
He says that depending on the size of a flowerpot, the price can range from Tsh15,000 to Tsh45,000 ($9.29 and $27.89) each whereas planted flowers cost between Tsh10,000 and 15,000 ($6.19 and $9.29) depending on the size.
Some customers usually prefer buying both the flowerpot and flowers at the same location. Some of the flowers take up to two years to grow to a stage where they are sold for a better price.
Mabiki says while he started with a capital of less than Tsh.150, 000 ($92) he now boosts having grown his business to a capital of more than Tsh3, 000,000 ($1.859) which he says helps him educate his children who are in primary schools.
For Ms Adelina Milaji, the hotel supervisor at one of the hotels in Dar says flowerpots are as important as picture flames when it comes to beautifying both the hotel surroundings and inside parts of the hotel especially, the reception room.
“First impression of the hotel can either scare a tourist and or make a tourist to lodge at your hotel. It is always important for hotels owners to make their surroundings attractive by planting flowers and or place different flowerpots both inside and outside of the hotel surroundings” Milaji says.
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