Colourful candles could soon put food on the tables and money in the pockets of 50 unemployed women in rural areas of the Eastern Cape.

A week-long candle-making and business skills development workshop at Umthiza Campsite on the outskirts of East London ended yesterday with a visit from Arts and Culture MEC Nomsa Jajula.

The R130 000 programme, funded by the Department of Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture, was aimed at teaching the women skills to help alleviate poverty, said Jajula.

Three disused factories in Dimbaza, Butterworth and Mthatha have been identified by the department, in partnership with the Eastern Cape branch of Women in Business, the Eastern Cape Development Corporation and the Department of Economic Affairs and Tourism, for the women to use to manufacture, package and distribute candles.

Alternatively, the candles could be made at the women's homes and sent to the factory warehouses.

"I would love to see the project supply local business with candles," said Jajula.

Nontyatyambo Manqina of Toise village in Stutterheim had never made a candle in her life before the workshop, but yesterday she was brimming with enthusiasm at the thought of starting her own candle-making business.

"This a big opportunity for me," she said. "I've gained a lot. Now I know how to manage a business, how to manage people and how to network. I can stand on my own with my own business."

Stella Qalase from King William's Town supports three grown children who cannot find work, but now she is hopeful a candle-making business will provide for her family.

"Everybody is making beads but this is something else," she said. "The government has given us this opportunity and I want to grab it. The ball is in our court now and if this idea fails or grows, it's because of our energy."