How books transformed Eric’s mind and life
Through the Street Lit project, Erik Makalo has turned his life around, selling books to make a living.
The Street Lit programme, which started three years ago at the Denis Hurley Centre, is now an award-winning entrepreneurship project. Street Lit was the KZN finalist in the SAB Social Innovation and Disability Empowerment Awards 2019. Through the project, a team of trained, rehabilitated homeless and formerly homeless people earn a modest income from selling donated books. The Berea Mail will interview book vendors in our area, to share their stories and introduce them to the Berea community.
Eric Makalo sells books at the Durban Botanic Gardens.
“I sell my books everyday, except when the weather is bad because I sell outside,” said Makalo.
An avid reader himself, Makalo said books are the best gifts to give loved ones.
“Reading helps us to be creative. It’s a habit all of us should have, especially if you have children. You should encourage children to read. When you buy them gifts, you should buy books. Reading transformed my way of thinking and my life. Reading a hard copy is easier than reading a screen and it’s even better to buy second-hand because then you are helping the environment as well,” he said.
While reading has transformed Makalo’s mind, selling books has enabled him to transform his life and move into his own flat after living on the Durban streets.
“Prior to this, I was washing taxis at a Durban taxi rank. That was my only income. I had no other option. I had to pay R20 per day- daily rent at the shelter I stayed at. I met people at the shelter who were book sellers and that’s how I joined Street Lit,” he said.
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Makalo, who hails from Johannesburg, came to Durban 2019 in search of a job. He recalled the difficult times he endured when he was washing cars for a living.
“One of the challenges is hunger. The business of cleaning taxis is monopolised. It’s very difficult to get a taxi to wash. I struggled to earn enough money for food and rent at the shelter. When it’s raining there’s no work, because you can’t wash when it’s raining. Some days I would have no income. The shelter won’t allow you to enter unless you have money. There were times when I had to go and sleep at the police station,” he recounted.
He spent a year selling books in the Durban CBD before he moved to the Durban Botanic Gardens in February this year.
Makalo has mastered the art of pricing second-hand books.
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“If you are a book seller and you are a reader, it makes the job much simpler. When you consume your product, you can advise your customers. If you want to make a profit from selling books, you have to do the research. Profit comes from knowledge of different authors, categories of books and market prices. We don’t read all of the books we sell, but we can price them by doing research and knowing how much the book costs at the bookstore. If a book costs R300 at a bookstore, you know not to sell the book for R10,” he said.
Once he knows the value of the book, Makalo considers the book’s condition and popularity.
You have to know how to price the book – not to price it too high or too low. Being a second-hand book seller means we are meeting people half way because books are extremely expensive. I go to bookshops every week to see what’s new, and to check the prices of books. You have to be updated on the current best-selling author and trends,” he said.
Currently, Makalo’s favourite author is Paulo Coelho.
“He writes fiction that is based on true stories. He writes in the style of a novel. You learn a lot from his books,” said Makalo.
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