Thomas the Tailor (and his Colleagues)

I'd gone to many of the tailors in BBS Mall, at fabric shops, and various other places, and finally happened upon a solid tailor. In fact, I happened upon a whole flock.

I had heard rumors of the Tailors of African Mall for some time, but I'd never ventured into their lair. One must go down an alley between the buildings that house Kopano and the Fashion Annex. Go through the gate. A sign for industrial equipment sales beckons the unsuspecting visitor inward. Once inside, the alley opens into a small courtyard, and there are tailors "all over the show". There might be ten or fifteen tailors in a given room. Though it looks like a sweatshop, my understanding is that it's a collective.

We went to a guy called Thomas. We gave him both the shorts we like, and the fabric with which to copy the design. (It should be noted that we purchased the leteisi from Timba Trading, right next door, which has seriously ramped up their stock of german print/shweshwe/leteisi.) Thomas did a fine job, and completed our two pairs of shorts in four days. One was BWP100 ($14.40), the other, BWP120 ($17.28), which just slightly undercuts what most fabrics stores charge. Just be sure to try on your article and have him make any adjustments before completing the deal.

When it comes to sewing, Thomas the Tailor (and his Colleagues) gets it done.

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Thomas the Tailor

Physical: African Mall, between Kopano and the Fashion Annex

- See it on the Top Thusa map -

Phone: 7168 3672

Maja Enterprises (PTY) LTD

Colleen's mother sent me a massage pillow to help with my ailing back. Because all of our electronics can handle 220v and require only a power adaptor to convert the plug, I didn't give it a thought, and immediately blew the circuit board. Ugh.

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find a similar massage device. This thing is amazing. So I took it apart.

I excised the fried circuit board and brought it around to various hardware stores (Mica, the one next to Woolworths in Kgale View, et cetera). Two of them said Silverstar in African Mall. While Silverstar indeed seems to be one of the only places that sells a single-outlet 220>110 converter (for BWP99, or $14.25), that wouldn't fix my board. The knowledgeable guy there suggested Maja Enterprises in Broadhurst Industrial (in the shopping center just West of Broadhurst Motors).

Just walking in, it was obvious that they meant business. Small trays labelled with alphanumeric combinations lined a very long wall. There must have been thousands. Many glass cases contained fuses, capacitors, resistors, potentiometers - you name it. The woman at the counter (wearing a ZCC badge) identified the problem and retrieved the parts. When I asked if they might be able to solder the F1 fuse and capacitor to the board for me, she called Banda out of the back. Two minutes and BWP30 ($4.30) later, I had a working massage pillow.

When it comes to electronics, Maja Enterprises gets it done.

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Maja Enterprises (PTY) LTD

Electronics Components & Repairs

Physical: Plot 5665 - Shop 3 - Kubu Rd

- See it on the Top Thusa map -

Postal: Box 40689, Gaborone

Phone: 391 3540

Fax: 318 2023

Email: maja@botsnet.bw