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Business Opportunities

We believe in investing in businesses in Eswatini  that generate profits to support our childcare work.

Challenge Ministries Swaziland have developed various enterprises over the last 20 years with the aim of becoming self-sustaining as a charity. The profits from these businesses add to the income generated through fund-raising and are used in our wider work caring for orphans and vulnerable children. The enterprises also create employment opportunities for many of the young people graduating from Bulembu.

 

Covid has hit the economy hard and so we have had to sell our water business and downscale honey production. The lodge and restaurant have also been hit hard with the loss of tourism and therefore visitors. The dairy and Bakery in Bulembu continue to produce food and milk for the children. Our great hope is a new exciting venture into the essential oils market.

Help Our Businesses Thrive

Although our businesses are self sufficient your donations will help us to expand and support more local people

Bulembu Essential Oils

EVERY INHERITANCE STARTS WITH A FAMI LY TREE. OUR CHI LDREN HAD THEIRS TAKEN AWAY BY HIV/AIDS, SO WE ARE PLANTING A FOREST THAT WI L L GIVE THEM A HOPE & A FUTURE, STARTING WITH A FAMILY AND A PLACE TO CALL HOME.

Bulembu’s first macro-enterprise, Bulembu Timber was launched in the spring of 2006, in order to utilise the timber from the roughly 1000ha plantation.  A sawmill was laid out on the site of an old power generation station next to the Mkhomazane river, which marks the Northern and Eastern boundary of the farm.  This sawmill cut some of the larger logs that came from the plantation into cants and planks for various markets – both local and export.  Bulembu Ministries managed the sawmill in the beginning years, but due to the focus on the children’s care and homes the plantation and sawmill were later leased out to other parties.  The plantation and saw-milling leases ended in late 2019.  After the end of the leases, Bulembu continued managing the plantation and have recently started an essential oil project, converting part of the plantation into different species for oil production.  

The essential oil project will focus mainly on eucalyptus oils but a range of other high value oils are also being trialled.  Planting began in January 2020 and to date (January 2021) around 55ha of a planned 650ha have been planted.  The oil distillation plant will be installed in the middle of 2021.

This project will contribute significantly towards the sustainability goals at Bulembu and will require substantial capital investment in the early years – please contact Essential-Oils@CMSwazi.org.uk  for investment opportunities.

 

Read more about our Essential oils business

Dairy

Once the destination of golfers where leisure was the only output, then into years of decay, now these greens provide fresh milk to hundreds of children and the traditional Swazi favourite Emasi (soured milk), our dairy farm is a thriving hub of production and employment.

However, to capture a greater sales market we need to expand. This expansion needs to be through an increased herd size, improved bottling and manufacturing processes, intensifying our farming process to compensate for limited ‘greens’, finance to reclaim redundant land and convert it into pasture. With your help we can do so much more. 

Case Study

A donation from a UK company paid for the production of plastic milk bottles for the dairy business in Bulembu. This enabled the sales team to sell milk in bottles directly to the supermarkets rather than the wholesaler. Changing the distribution channel doubled the average selling price and therefore our income from the dairy business.

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Honey Farm

From the bees that harvest the pollen of the Eucalyptus trees of Eswatini, comes one of our finest products and fastest expanding market – honey. Originally sold to visiting teams and tourists from our souvenir shop, this product now proudly stands on many supermarket shelves.

Investment has increased production and sales, but with your help we can do so much more – finance for more hives in multiple locations, increased automation, greater product range … this is a sweet story of success, can you bee more for us? Can you help us bee more productive?

Case Study

Other donations have led to improvements to the honey factory, paying for equipment that made production more efficient and therefore more profitable.

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Lodge and Restaurant

In the early days we provided some bed space in basic accommodation for visiting teams – basic cost with no profit. During the ensuing years through investment in higher grade renovations and taking on more properties, the Lodge caters for all our visiting teams providing top quality accommodation in hundreds of varied bed spaces. 

The restaurant through an upgraded kitchen and training of staff provides gourmet food not only to our teams, but also to many tourists who book with us through the Swazi tourist board. All visitors find not just a peaceful get away experience and fulfilling volunteer work, but have the enjoyment of knowing their money buys more than just a good experience – it helps provide beds and a roof over the heads of our children. 

Profit is now generated from this enterprise – but we can do more! Would you finance the training of a chef, front of house staff, a waiter – and all coming from the young adults graduating from our orphan care programme. How about financing a new lodge house refurb? There is so much you could do.

Case Study

We are slowly painting and decorating each of the rooms in the lodge as money becomes available. By improving the standard of rooms, in particular, installing modern bathrooms, we are increasing the income from tourism.

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Bakery

From the dereliction of an old butchery rose the idea of a creating a bakery. This building now provides all the daily bread requirements of the ever increasing number of mouths of our beautiful children. 

Not only does it feed the children in our care, but also provides an income from sales to people in our local community. Over the last few years the product range has grown to include delicious cakes.

Can you supply resources in the form of advice, time (come over and help) and money to improve our product range, finance a new bakery, help run one of our delivery trucks for a year?

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Conference Centre

Conference Centre

From an ambitious idea – to become one of Eswatini’s premier conferencing centres – came our state of the art conference centre. Funded by a generous grant from a Canadian foundation and the donated time from a group of architects, out of a derelict community hall and surrounding buildings our new conference centre now proudly stands. 

With the improved Lodge facilities we now host some of Eswatini’s top businesses. But with 365 days in a year we have a long way to go in our forward bookings – more investment is required in marketing and advertising. Is this your forte? Can you help promote our facility, pay for more staff, fund an advertising campaign?

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Contact Us

For more information on how you can help – by providing finance, a resource or mentorship advice – please fill out the form below and get in touch with us. WE NEED YOU!

    Challenge Ministries Swaziland
    Crendon house,
    Westfield Rd,
    Long Crendon,
    Bucks,
    HP18 9EW

    07554 671676
    info@cmswazi.org.uk