Coffin Making Project of the Laingsburg Thusong Service Centre

- is poised and strategically positioned within the hub of the town in order to address fundamental life changing needs of the community.

- By Marlene Hendricks

October 2010

The Laingsburg Thusong Service Centre prides itself with an Economic Development Project named the Coffin Making Project. This objective of the project is to create employment and supply low cost coffins to the broader Central Karoo region.

The project is built within the six block model services of the Thusong services centers in terms of local economic development services that enable small business support and development.  The Coffin Making project was made possible by the funding that was made available by the National Development Agency (NDA) and the District Municipality.  Several talented unemployed community members received the necessary skills and training that is enabling them to sustain their families.  

The centre is poised and strategically position within the hub of the town in order to address fundamental life changing needs of the community.  Many people in Laingsburg are unemployed and cannot afford expensive funerals; neither could they afford to provide a funeral policy or plan for their families.

This project now allows ordinary community members to buy beautiful coffins from the Laingsburg Thusong Service Centre, which they even can lay buy to suite their financial situation.  The project is competing with established Funeral Parlous in the Central Karoo and has established a solid Client Tele.

The Centre Manager Mr Steven Schippers said that their plan is to expand the project in such a way that more jobs can be created for the unemployed and that more people will benefit from the project through skills development acquired.  “We want to encourage the Central Karoo residents to support this economic development initiative by buying coffins from the Laingsburg Thusong Service Centre” further said Mr Schippers.

Mr Schippers also indicated that the project wants to position itself to broaden its services and market to other provinces to ensure maximum growth that will definitely relief poverty and change people’s lives.