Coffin Making is Big Business in South Africa
Death is big business and if you have the skills to make simple or elaborate coffins, then you are guaranteed a business that is never going to go under. Death is no longer the sombre, taboo topic of yesteryear and people want trendy, upbeat coffins. Coffin making has become far more creative, and with people planning ahead for their funerals, they are organizing trendy, wacky, weird and quirky designs for their coffins.
No longer do you have to settle for sedate, formal looking coffins – you can take pick from an assortment of materials and colours, all designed to your personal taste. In Ghana for instance, the Ga tradition of carpentry includes weird, colourful coffins which cater to the customs and personalities of the people there.
Some coffin makers there specialise in one-of-a-kind coffins, and their ‘career-inspired’ coffins are shaped like a taxi if you were a taxi driver or like a chicken if the deceased person was a poultry farmer.
Coffin Making – There’s a Shortage of Affordable Coffins
In South Africa, there is a shortage of affordable coffins, and those who realise how many people die in South Africa, are getting wise to what a lucrative business coffin making can be. They are joining short coffin-training courses where in a week or so they can learn how to make a sample coffin and a coffin jig. They also receive a construction- and marketing manual at the same time.
A coffin is used to lay and sometimes display the remains of the diseased for burial or cremation. Times are changing, and many people who don’t have the money, are desperately trying to avoid having to invest in expensive glamorous coffins displayed at the funeral home’s retail shop. They are looking for basic, robust, no-frills, affordable coffins.
If you want to start making coffins, find out what your coffin competitors are doing so that you can offer your customers something better. With much emphasis on going green, people are also looking for simple, eco-friendly coffins which are suitable for all kinds of funeral services, whether traditional burials or cremations. They like the clean, uncluttered designs and sometimes request a small individual design on the coffin to make it more personal.
Coffin Making – Lots of Starting-a-Coffin-Business Tutorials
There is plenty of useful information on the Internet about starting a coffin business in South Africa, how to go about advertising, marketing and selling your products and services.
Customers have lots of strange requests for coffins. so a coffin maker needs to be flexible, versatile and competent. Obviously, the essential skill for coffin making will require woodworking, but the coffin maker will also need a good understanding of pricing too.
There are many informal businesses in South Africa which aren’t registered with any industry association. If you want to do things the right way, there are standards that coffin-makers can adhere to when designing and making coffins, and in fact the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) publishes standards for coffins and caskets. They give ideas on the materials to use so that entrepreneurs can have an efficient manufacturing process.
Death is as sure as the rising sun, and coffin making is big business in South Africa, and you’ll find it lucrative and rewarding, up to the last finishing touch.
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All info was correct at time of publishing