Hamis Chamilunda is employed by the Mambo Leo Furniture group in Morogoro, Tanzania. He took a course in carpentry and business development with the Small Industries Development Organisation (SIDO), a partner of Tools for Self Reliance.

I learnt about business planning, pricing, record keeping and marketing. I enjoyed the training and I have shared what I learnt with the other members of my group, but there’s a lot more I still want to learn.

“Charging a realistic amount for our furniture and keeping good records have been the two biggest changes we have made. We now charge according to what we spend and we are able to put money back into the business to make it more effective.

“The new tools have been a great help – they are of much higher quality than our old ones. We’re far busier than we were and we can charge higher prices because we’re making better furniture.

“I have enough money to send my children to school and buy my family good clothes and food. We no longer worry about where the next meal is coming from. Thank you to the people who donated their tools to Tools for Self Reliance and thank you to the volunteers who refurbished them.”

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