Como Casa brand is the brainchild of both Cwenga Manakaza and Mandlakayise Dambuza, a couple from the small towns named Umtata and Grahamstown in the Eastern Cape but both residing in Johannesburg. The duo is well known on the social media by sharing locations and destinations they visit around the country, also they have appeared to be the most romantic couple that enjoys love, traveling and family.
Firstly, where did your love for travelling come from and how has it changed your lives? “Our love for travelling started when we were still at Varsity: University of Fort Hare, which is in Alice - a very small town that aroused our curiosity to explore other places. And that is when we started travelling and later had a car, that made our traveling and exploring more convenient. The traveling lifestyle has changed our lives so much that it has made us realize how much we haven’t seen and how much we still need to see. The amazing part in it is learning about different places, the people and just the cultures around certain places. After some we started our own travel business called Eastern Cape Travel, because we could see that there’s a gap, especially amongst the people of color. Hence we always share our experiences with our social media community”.
Which has been your favorite destination as a couple in the country and why? “Knysna! Oh my word that place has shown us a lot, we have experienced so much in Knysna. And that’s where we got engaged. It’s so beautiful. We still consider moving down to Knysna you know, or at-least have a holiday house there”.
You guys have now started a new business named COMO CASA, when did you commence with COMO CASA and what inspired you guys to ever go for entrepreneurship and start selling these kinds of products? “Como Casa started as an idea back in May 2021 and it later came to life in October. Who wants to work for someone their entire life? We’ve always asked ourselves this question. We believe we’ve always had an entrepreneurial mindset because Como Casa is not our first baby together, we nurtured Eastern Cape Travel as well. Mandla loves scents so much, he likes to smell good even”, said Cwenga with laughter. During our traveling, mostly we’ve always bought disappointing home fragrances that wouldn’t last or wouldn’t really live up to our expectations. So, one day we sat down and thought about making our own home fragrances. We started with a scented candle, we made it ourselves, thanks to YouTube. We started learning everything about home scents and that’s how we saw an opportunity to start making our own and sell”.
What are some of the challenges you faced when you started your business? “Getting our product out there, not just on social media but in other places has been a challenge but thank God we have succeeded. Our product is now available on Takealot. The whole process was daunting, but we finally managed to get listed there because there is a huge market on Takealot”.
You are partners in life and in business, please share how is the experience and what are the advantages of building a business with your partner in love? “Our experience is pretty much smooth. What makes it work is that we were lovers before we became business partners. We are aware of our weaknesses and strengths as individuals and we also apply that in business, but mostly we stretch out of our comfort zones. That’s how we divide work amongst the two of us”.
Lastly, where do you guys see COMO CASA in the next 5years? “Como Casa is not just a home fragrance brand, we see Como Casa as a home decor brand. People love beautiful homes so we want to take care of their home decor needs. We will expand the business, and obviously have different ranges and different products”.