Most 12-year-olds will be taking a hard-earned break these school holidays – but not Lochlan Cockrell.
He will be spending the next two weeks chopping fire wood.
The Nelson College Preparatory School student has started his own business selling boxes of kindling from his Stoke home.
He calls himself ‘The Kindling Kid.’
And since starting out two weeks ago, business is booming – with 50 boxes sold already, leaving him with $250 in his pocket.
Lochlan says the idea came about last winter when he started helping his dad chop kindling for their own fireplace.
“I was allowed to start using an axe when I was 11, and for the boxes I use a hand-axe that my grandfather helps me sharpen.
“I can do four boxes an hour if I’m really determined.”
The kindling is a steal at $5 a box, but Lochlan says he’s surprised how fast it’s been selling.
“My dad told me they would sell like hot cakes. One man wanted to order 20 boxes, but he didn’t want to put me under too much pressure, so he just ordered ten.
“Now I’ve ran out of banana boxes.”
The wood comes from broken untreated pallets which Lochlan gets for free from his dad’s work.
“Otherwise they’d just go into the skip and then to the dump,” he says.
And what will he be spending his hard-earned money on?
“I’m saving up for my own phone and then any extra will go into the bank.”
To order a box of kindling from Lochlan, you can call or text 0210694211.
