By Account Manager (Africa) Rita Musyimi

Approximately 25% of Nairobi’s population lives in the informal settlements, also known as slums. Most of the people moved from their rural homes in search of job opportunities in the city. However these jobs proved elusive and they found themselves living here. Even so an entrepreneurial spirit is ever present in these settlements. There are money making opportunities that could be leveraged to increase economic activities and strengthen the communities. Private social enterprises have come to the rescue of these communities. As a social lender Shared Interest falls under this ‘’rescue team’’. On day three, we visited an existing handicrafts producer and a potential new customer based in these settlements. In the former case opening up a line of credit for the producer has meant that they have stayed in business for several years and grown their business to compete globally. In the latter case, recycling and reusing of materials was the mainstay of their operations. The youth involved were not only working on a project that is eco-friendly they were also carving out a decent living. The quality of the products produced right in the middle of an informal settlement where ventilation is a big problem is amazing. From this seemingly nonplussed environment the youth do have a computer and internet connection. It is also clear that their customer care standards are unrivalled by most big companies. It is difficult to fathom the source of these quality products especially when you see them displayed in exclusive stores in Nairobi. With a little bit of help, with better ventilated premises, these youth can do wonders.

Youth and Ingenuity 

Some of the producers visited in Nairobi and its environs were quite young. They are using their creativity and innovation to earn a decent living. How do you fancy running a business in the shell of an old bus? Yes, a potential customer is doing just that. There are two such bus shells on their premises. After the bus company decommissioned these buses the young man and his family moved them to a rented location in the outskirts of Nairobi. He saw an opportunity in them and created an ‘office’ and ‘factory’ from them. He also does not pay for some of the raw materials. Overgrown bamboo trees are a nuisance to a nearby school as they are a breeding ground for snakes. This man offers to cut them down. The school is happy to have this done for free. For this young man the bamboo is used to create wonderful gift items. When not using bamboos, they prune overgrown branches from cypress and jacaranda trees in the compound and surroundings. What he saves in the bamboo, he has to pay for the pruned cypress and jacaranda.

Brace yourself for the location of his board meetings. This is where we were invited to discuss all matters financial. It is right under a tree shade and the seats are tree stumps carved out to make a very comfortable sitting area. With such ingenuity it would be unfair of me to ask how he makes his power point presentations. I reckon he would provide another very innovative answer. Actually, wasn’t his power point the whole tour from bus to tree? Successful and environmentally sustainable businesses are made of stuff like this, we can all agree.

Moving on to another producer…How do you provide quality assurance training to women who have minimal or no formal education? It is happening right in the heart of Maasai land. The two educated project managers tailor the training around the practical things that the women do on a daily basis, like buying lessos (clothing used by the Maasai).  Lessons on quality are derived from this. No written manuals (they can’t read them in any case) and the associated costs. Talk about keeping costs at a minimum, how clever is that!

Matters personal 

In between and at the end of the official trip are two weekends. This is time well spent with family and friends

As the trip comes to an end, I recap the whole experience and realise that indeed I soaked it all in very well. And yes, I remember some more words of the song:

‘’My Land is Kenya

So warm, wild and free

You’ll always stay with me

Deep in my heart, deep in my heart…’’

 As I return to my adopted home in Newcastle, I say Kwaheri ya kuonana (So long) to ‘Enkare Nyirobi’*

*The name “Nairobi” comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, which translates to “the place of cool waters”.

Click here to learn how you can invest in fair trade. Click here to donate to the Shared Interest Foundation

By Account Manager (Africa) Rita Musyimi

Day two and we literally hit the road running with the work. After lunch we proceeded to our first meeting with a social lender based in Nairobi. It is amazing the spirit of social lenders in ensuring that no producer is driven out of business. This meeting was all about what both Shared Interest and this lender could do to ensure the producer under discussion remained afloat in business. After some negotiations and consultation with Andrew Ridley, our Credit and Services Manager in Newcastle, a win-win situation was reached and happily the producer is still in business.

In contrast to Newcastle which was still quite cold when we left, the temperature was really high in Nairobi, at least 26⁰C or more. Lots of water intake kept us from getting dehydrated.

The only producer I visited away from Nairobi is based in Eldoret in the Rift Valley Province. The name Eldoret is derived from the Maasai word ‘eldore’ meaning ‘stony river’ because the bed of nearby Sosiani River is very stony. The white settlers decided to call it Eldoret to make it easier for them to pronounce it. It lies approximately 2,300m above sea level. It is one of Kenya’s bread baskets with the major crops being wheat, pyrethrum and maize. For cheese lovers, the Doinyo Lessos Creameries Cheese Factory produces about 30 types of cheese, as well as ice-cream and yoghurt. The town is home to some of Kenya’s renowned international athletes. It also houses a university and teaching hospital in Kenya, a polytechnic and textile factory.

The town has a number of factories, one of which I visited on my second day in Kenya. Well, only this time it was not a factory processing wheat, pyrethrum or cheese but one which handles a produce that is as small as it is little known – bird’s eye chillies. The chillies are so named both due to their small round shape and because they are widely spread by birds. They are a perennial plant that can be harvested all year round. The fruit (yes, fruit not vegetable) of the bird’s eye chilli is popularly used as a spice and chilli condiment in oriental cuisine. Next time you enjoy the fiery zing of an oriental dish, think bird’s eye chillies. Oh and in medicine the bird’s eye chillies were traditionally used to ease arthritis and rheumatism and also as a cure for toothache and, erm flatulence.  It was also used as a natural insect repellent when mixed with water. Woe unto you if after applying the insect repellent mix, you then went ahead and rubbed your eyes.

After providing a general overview of the business, a very enthusiastic Operations Director took me on a tour of the factory where the chillies are processed into powder form before packing for export. I was clad in mouth guard, head gear and dust coat. Despite all this health and safety armour, I still suffered stinging eyes, an irritated throat and incessant sneezing and coughing. A real test to the strength of my lungs, but I survived the tour. I wondered though about the toughness of the workers in this factory, who work there daily without all of these safety measures. I was informed that with time one gets used to the conditions.

While a 40-minute flight got me comfortably to Eldoret, travel by road was a different matter. Two visits to chillies farmers were scheduled. We managed to visit one farmer approximately 40 kilometres away in Soy area. Despite the use of a 4-wheel drive vehicle, the ride was bumpy and rough and took at least one hour. Didn’t the taxi driver in Nairobi tell me the roads would be brought up to the standards in the West? This is definitely one of the counties that will have to work extremely hard to get investors and resources to fix the roads here to the standards aforementioned. Needless to say half way through the journey to the second farmer, the trip was suspended. We had to factor in another bumpy ride back and check in time for my flight back to Nairobi. We managed to get to the airport at least one hour before departure, heart in mouth for fear of missing the last and only flight back to Nairobi.

All in all, the producer works with these challenging circumstances. The field extension workers have to contend with these rough roads on a daily basis as they make their way to the farmers using motor cycles. After such gruelling trips they sometimes find that the farmers are not tending or have not harvested the chillies. I learnt that due to the high potential nature of the agricultural land in Eldoret, the farmers here do not like to farm chillies as it is considered a ‘poor man’s crop’. Therefore the extension workers have to go farther afield to reach farmers in lower agricultural potential areas. This costs the producer that much more in terms of time and money. Not to mention, the shipments sometimes get routed in the wrong direction. This particular producer had just received news that a shipment they sent to Germany had somehow managed to find its way to a port in Iran!

Click here to learn how you can invest in fair trade. Click here to donate to the Shared Interest Foundation