Enterprise

Ex-police officer taps waste coconut shells to make ornaments

Myeri

Entrepreneur Murage Ngare sells ear rings made from coconut shell to Shay Knight in Nyeri. PHOTO | JOSEPH KANYI

Like the old idiom goes — one man’s trash is another man’s fortune. Murage Ngare is keeping true to this adage by making a living out of ornaments fashioned from discarded coconut shells.

The 57-year-old man came up with the idea of making ornaments from coconut shells after visiting Lamu town in 1990, following his resignation from the police in 1989 after 11 years of service.

The entrepreneur makes earrings, belts, bangles and buttons of different sizes designed to suit the needs of his clients.

“My theme is mainly African and Kenyan oriented as well as making traditional gourds that are attractive to most white people in Nanyuki of the British Army Training Unit in Kenya” he told Enterprise.

After leaving the police force, he went to the Coast to look “for something different to do”. He was not lucky to secure formal employment and ended up working as a beach boy, a job he did not like. Luckily, he met a man who was making ornaments from waste material and, after months of training, he too took up the job.

His mentor relocated to Zanzibar and Ngare inherited his tools of trade and slowly mastered the art.

The father of two, who hails from Endarasha in Nyeri County, says his biggest clients are salons that make orders in bulk. On a good days he earns more than Sh1,000, a return he considers worth his time and effort but which he says could be better.

However, he has to travel almost 15 kilometres every day to market his wares.

“Currently, the market is not friendly, because I am still struggling to get people to buy what am selling while others are taken aback by the price,” he says.

Ngare sells most of his products through word of mouth. He is, however, considering joining different social media platforms to boost visibility of his handicraft.

A coconut shell bracelet and earring cost between Sh100 to Sh500 depending on the size and the design while the smallest sells for about Sh50 and on average Sh250.

Ngare is a constant supplier of buttons that he sells at between Sh15 and Sh25, depending on size to fashion houses that order them in large scale boosting his income.

Local traders, according to Ngare, are not willing to buy his products terming them too expensive “overlooking their uniqueness”.

Ngare travels often to neighbouring towns such as Sagana, Karatina, and Nanyuki to boost his sales.

Another challenge he faces is availability of raw materials.

In Lamu it was easy for him to source raw materials and the customer-base was much wider, including local and international tourists who frequented the Coast.

However, three years ago, he had to relocate his business to Nyeri to take care of his ailing mother.

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