I Love Woodstock Interview with Bulelani Ncaphayi from Nkumbi, Eastern Cape

ILW met up with entrepreneur and bookseller Bulelani Ncaphayi. Some of you may have seen Bulelani selling books outside the Shoprite on Main, Rd. Woodstock, a location usually reserved for sellers of fruit & vegetables, sweets etc. We asked him how he came to be here and what made him choose a life surrounded by books.

Why did you choose Woodstock?

I started in Plumstead with the books. I was near the station but it was too slow. Sometimes, I only got one client a day. So I thought that people were not interested in reading there. Then while I was passing by Woodstock, I saw that the Shoprite was busy. I saw a lot of people coming out of the shop and I thought if I could come here, it would do better.

How long have you been set up here in Woodstock? And what is a typical day for you?

This is my 3rd month now. I come in from Capricorn (a township outside Muizenberg – ed). I rent a small storage space here in woodstock and set up in the morning. If it’s a good day especially in summer I will stay until 5.30 but if it’s cold and windy and it’s a quiet day I might leave at 4.

Do you have regularly customers yet?

Yes I do, three or four of them. But most of them are new customers. I’ve got a good relationship with my clients. The only problem I have is that if someone asks me for a particular book they will go to another bookshop to get it as I can only have so many books. I do write down the books that people are looking for so I can try and find them, but that’s not always possible as I get them from charity shops and they rely on donations.

Why or what made you chose to get involved with books?

I chose books because I want people, especially black people to read. I want people to get back to their roots instead of only going forward with technology, especially those who are in schools. Reading, I think, is the best way for people to change. But when I read books, the way I grew up, I forget about the things that are around me. When you read books, even the paper, you can think positive thoughts and not just focus on the bad things. Also I thought that there are many people who are selling chips, oranges and clothes but there are not many people who are selling books.

When you were growing up in the Eastern Cape where did you get books from?

There were no libraries there because it was a rural area. That was a challenge. I grew up liking reading, any story I could find, short stories, novels. There were very very few people in my village who had books apart from dictionaries and bibles, so you had to get them from the school libraries. Though that is changing now, there are more books now because of the government, not only just those books such as statistics that you read because you have to read them, but you can go to the library and get something you like.

What did you read when you were growing up?

While I was growing up I only had access to isiXhosa books, and only when I went to High School from Standard 8 did I start reading English books. I like some non-fictions but I really like fiction. Stories meant a lot to me. For example, in Grade 7 we acted the “The Merchant of Venice” by Shakespeare. But basically, I would read any stories I could find.

What are your plans for the future?

My plan is to own a bookstore. That will be better than standing here. It’s a good thing to stand here and I know you have to start somewhere, but I am dependant on sunny days, because in winter, like when it rains or it’s very windy I can’t always open. I don’t have any backup, because I live off what I sell.

That’s why I studied Commerce at school. So I can become a successful entrepreneur. Those that know me, they say, the way you grew up it looked like you’ll become something. I was that kind of person who is not shy and who would stand up for himself. I liked to be that kind of guy who did sport, who read, to not be included in any kind of wrong stuff.

And my wish was to write a book. Which I did. Now, I really want to publish it.

Tell me about the book, this is a book that you wrote?

Yes. It is called “Ukuba NdandiPhuphulle” which means “I wish I had listened to my parents”. The only thing that I am short of is a publisher. And information on how I can publish my book. I wrote it in isiXhosa not in English. It’s a book which I believe will change many young people’s perceptions, the way they think. It starts in my rural area, and it gives you that idea that if you grow up in place, in a family like mine, that is so poor, you mustn’t limit your chances, you must go forward and think what is best for you instead of going to just rob.

Also in my book, there is a character, a lady, who falls pregnant while she was at school and her friends when they pass her on the street, they become thieves. If you notice, according to us Africans black and white, most of the people who dump school or do drugs, most of them fell pregnant at school. And now they have something to look after instead of focusing fully and they can’t reach their goals in life.

I Love Woodstock wishes Bulelani well. Visit him next time you are near the Shoprite on Main Road!