Finding Focus
Today was a good day.
Despite all the pressure coming from so many different places.
You kind of have to just let it flow through you as best you can.
At Mungo we’re a team of 85 or so and almost everybody is at home. Our place of work is Old Nick Village, in Plettenberg Bay and it couldn’t be a nicer place to spend the day. So now a few of us get to enjoy it just for ourselves. What a privilege.
Today I was thinking about the cracks caused by existing inequalities which highlight some of the fundamental divides in our country:
Being able to practice social distancing is a privilege.
Being able to wash your hands is a privilege.
Being able to spend five weeks at home during lock down is a privilege.
Having food whilst doing so is a privilege.
Being able to work is a privilege.
I’m looking for the positive gaps and spaces that exist in all this mayhem with the hope that I’ll find the right ones. And I won’t know whether they were the right ones until sometime in the future. So, I’m focusing on the present. One day, one week, one month at a time.
The status quo has changed. I have had a long hard look at how we operate, and while for a moment I thought we could apply the usual principle of less work less pay, it just didn’t sit well. I had to accept I was wrong, and adjust. It’s the way we’re going to get through this. By breaking through the barriers of our preconceived ideas.
We need to look after the vulnerable, not just from a health perspective but an economic one too. So, there is a downsized team hard at work keeping our business going. The majority of these individuals are senior management and seamstresses. They are taking on the responsibility of making sure that there’s something for the rest of our family to come back to.
We are all taking a pay cut – how much we are not sure for now, but have decided that if the time comes and we are forced to implement further reductions it will start from the top.
So regardless of all the negatives, today was a good day. I spent it pressing and packaging linen masks, a new product we have been developing. Pulling up my sleeves and getting involved in the production process. Something I don’t generally get the opportunity to do anymore.
It’s empowering to be able to contribute something positive during this time.
Such a privilege.
~ Dax Holding, MD
Pre-order our linen mask online
- Woven in 100% linen
- Form fitting design
- Washable and reusable
- Optional pocket to insert disposable filter
- With every purchase we will donate another mask to someone in need
We have been issued an essential service permit to manufacture and distribute masks during lockdown. Since putting our first batch on sale last week, we have received an overwhelming number of orders (which is amazing – thank you everyone!). This week we are refining the design and scaling up production. You can still order yours online and secure a mask from our next batch. We are now working on a 7 to 10 working day lead time.
