Jua Kali Enterprises continues to provide livelihoods for families across the country, with artisans transforming locally available materials into household items.
However, for 77-year-old Peter Muiruri Mbugua and his 68-year-old wife, Nelly Nduta, the trade has become a lifelong commitment that has sustained their family for decades.
Through their business, Jehovah Jireh Tinsmith, the couple make and sell charcoal ovens, aluminium frying pans and piggy banks from old metal tins, while also converting discarded car tyres into chicken coops, earning up to Sh10,000 in sales on a good day.
Their workshop stands along the busy stretch leading towards Kiprugut Chumo Stadium from Kericho town, where pedestrians, vehicles and boda boda riders compete for space, as residents walk into the town centre from neighbouring estates, including Eland and Nyagacho.
Amid the bustle, the couple continue to serve customers seeking locally made household items, drawing on skills that Mbugua began acquiring in the early 1980s before establishing the family business with his wife in 1996.
The workshop has since become a source of income for the couple, enabling them to raise and educate their seven children, who are now adults, while maintaining their independence through a trade they have practiced for many years.
For Mbugua, the longevity of the business has been built on consistency, dedication and good health, which have enabled him to continue working despite his advancing age.
“Consistency is what has kept us going, as well as good health, and we are grateful to God,” he said.
His work goes beyond making household utensils, as he also gives discarded car tyres a second life by turning them into chicken coops, offering customers another practical product while making productive use of materials that might otherwise be thrown away.
However, the business has not been immune to rising living costs, with Mbugua saying daily sales have declined from as much as Sh15,000 on a good day in the past to about Sh10,000 currently.
To supplement the income from the business, Mbugua has ventured into poultry farming within the space available around his workshop, diversifying the family’s income sources.
Beyond sustaining his household, Mbugua has trained workers who have subsequently established their own Jua Kali businesses, passing on practical skills that can help others earn a living.
Nduta encourages young people to consider practical trades as a means of creating employment and building independent livelihoods.
“We are encouraging young people to venture into Jua Kali businesses, since they are still young and energetic, and they will do great exploits,” she said.
Mbugua has commended the government for investing in technical and vocational training programmes that equip young people with practical skills to establish businesses and create self-employment opportunities.
As the flow of people continues along the busy Kericho street, the couple remains committed to their craft, demonstrating how years of experience, resourcefulness and determination can turn discarded materials into useful products and sustain a family business across generations.
By Beatrice Chepkirui
