New skill helps Kenyan man find love
Otieno Abala has a physical disability, due to having polio as a child. He used to scrape together a living as a cobbler.
Three years ago he was a batchelor. On a Practical Action project he learnt how to install improved stoves which were more fuel efficient, and healthier as they produce less smoke. Now he could earn more money Otieno realised that he would be able to save enough for the all-important dowry. In Kenyan culture this is important as it shows that a man has sufficient income to keep a wife. Now he is happily married to Caroline.
Otieno surprised trainers by learning all the skills required in a day. "The training takes nine days, but to my astonishment, he learnt the entire course in a day," says Ms Herine Kawaka, the programme leader.
"I usually made about Sh300 (£2.50) per day as a cobbler," says Otieno. But my life is changing due to the new skills. I am now better placed to earn more," he beams. "Due to poverty, I was not able to gain formal education. This limited the jobs I could secure or business I could venture into."
He says physically-challenged people become dependent on other people because they cannot get education or buy aids like wheelchairs: "If I had a wheelchair in my childhood, perhaps I would have become even a teacher."
Otieno is determined to get ahead in spite of a lack of formal education. Already, he has spent the money earned from the project to pay a dowry.
A new wife
His new wife Caroline says he is caring and hard-working. Otieno says the new business pays for all his daily needs, reducing dependence on his parents and six siblings. But he faces a number of challenges.
"Last week, I went to fix a jiko (improvised stove) in Ng'iya market, three kilometres from here. By the end of the day, I was very tired," he says. "On some days, I get many orders. Potential clients get disappointed when I fail to turn up to install their jiko on time."
A client, Margaret Achieng, says Otieno fixed hers a month ago: "He did the work within 30 minutes and assured me the jiko would function well. Indeed it has."
A typical day
On a typical day, Otieno wakes up at 6am and hits the road to whichever homestead needs his skills first. "I call it a day at around 6pm. I then spend some time with my wife before going to bed at 10pm." Otieno says most physically challenged people suffer as a result of lack of funds to support them.
The Upesi Partnership Project
The project identified installers who were trained on stove installation in local kitchens. Stoves were supplied on credit and installed in the identified households of the vulnerable persons. 25 installers commercially disseminated and installed Upesi stoves in the Upesi partnership project earning them an income of approximately KShs 214,458 in a period of one year.
The planned target had been to produce 180 stoves in the households in Siaya, western Kenya. To date over 6,000 stoves have been produced and either installed in households or sold in the market. Project beneficiaries were keen to take the responsibility to pay for the stoves themselves.
Benefits
Stoves
- The improved stoves used less wood than the three stone fires which were used before - saving money for those who buy firewood and time for thos who used to have to go looking for firewood every day.
- The new stoves introduced health benefits including reduced colds, coughs and headaches. The inclusion of eave spaces in the kitchen during installation means that smoke levels in the kitchens are significantly reduced.
- The stoves provide fast and convenient cooking and heat retention, meaning that women need to spend less time supervising the fire during cooking.
Installers
- Stove installers have acquired new technical skills, as well as marketing skills, a good foundation to develop further skills in household energy in the future.
- As well as the direct improvements in their income, many installers felt that they had been lifted from poverty to dignity in their communities. Possessing the required skills in the local communities was a boost to their sense of social esteem and self worth.
