Upcycling bottles into beautiful flower vases

        It is every graduate’s dream to get a job after college. Unfortunately, only a fraction of the thousands of job seekers who enter the job market every year are lucky to find employment.

Stella Mutta, 27, a resident of Igoma suburb in Mwanza, decided to venture into business immediately after she graduated from the College of Business Education in Tanzania’s capital, Dodoma, in 2014. Like the rest, her expectations when she was in college was to land a good job and finally live her dream life.

“I studied with great conviction that I would get a formal job but I did not stay at home idle, waiting after graduation. Everyone knows how difficult it is getting a job these days,” says the diploma in accountant holder. With this in mind, Stella decided to throw a hook in entrepreneurship to make ends meet.

“It took me some months to weigh out the kind of project that did not require investing a lot of money in it given that I had no capital,” Stella says.

She chose a home décor project whose only requirements were used bottles and paint. She has no regrets. She recycles used bottles into flower vases. Stella curves the bottles into shapes desired by her customers and paints them in different designs. The vases vary in shape and size depending on the type, shape and size of the bottle itself.

Stella learnt the trade from a friend and considering that she has a passion in the art, it did not take her long to master cutting and curving the bottles into different looks without breaking them. A room in her home serves as the workshop and she is a proud employer of two workers.

She cannot imagine what life would be like had she kept tarmacking the roads looking for a job. She thinks she might end up doing just that for a living. Star Shine Foundation is the name of her project.

“If all goes according to plan come 2020, my project will be known throughout the country, more prosperous and we will be among the best producers of high quality products. Negotiations are on with some companies that have shown interest to fund my project,” she says.

Stella says the business is well paying although it requires a high level of keenness if you want to have the best results. Sometimes you have to dig deep into your pockets to order paints from Dar es Salaam when you can’t find them here,” she says.

Like all businesses, things were not easy in the beginning as she faced some challenges. The major one being identifying the market. Her major customers are hotels, bars and even individuals who have a passion for flowers.

When she started, Stella used to walk around wealthy neighbourhoods like Capri-Point, Nyegezi and some parts of Isamilo to hawk her goods. She then started receiving orders for her products. She sells a vase at between Sh20,000 and Sh50,000 and receives more orders during wedding ceremonies, Christmas and other similar events.

She makes between Sh1 million and Sh1.5 million in profit a month, depending on the flow of customers. Her education as an accountant has been a very big asset too. Stella is currently in the process of obtaining a licence to open a shop in Mwanza. For customers out of Mwanza, she sends them the products through courier service.

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