Gardeners, dog walkers and trainers making upto Sh400,000 a month

As Kenya’s middle-class bulges and disposable incomes rise, so are opportunities for freelance, home-based jobs that employ thousands.

Sophisticated lifestyles of the middle-class mean that now they have pets which need constant grooming or walking. Or they hold weekend parties and dinners that require the skills of a sommelier or a seasoned nyama choma griller.

Or they have lush gardens at their city homes that require a gardener to prune and add new masterpiece plants once in a while. Or they want to jog with a seasoned runner so they pay one to join them every Saturday at Nairobi’s Karura Forest.

If you thought working in a white-collar job and earning, say, Sh200,000 complete with a pension, every month is cool, you would be surprised by what many Kenyans, some with no specialised skills, earn by working in the service industry.

Nicholas Mbugua may not be a dweller of any of the leafy suburbs in Nairobi, but he spends most of his days in Karen and Runda neighbourhoods, tending flower gardens, planting grass and trees and trimming hedges for clients. This is what he has done for all his adult life. Any suggestion of employment puts him off.

“I have raised my family and built a home for them through this job. I have even bought a car from my earnings,” he says.

At any given time, Mbugua is working for about 20 clients, doing different gardening activities.

“I work for individual families. Sometimes I am managing gardens for existing homes and planting new ones in new homes.” Some gardening projects could cost as much as Sh1 million. Even more. After 26 years as a gardener, Mbugua says clients need not provide him with capital to establish a garden.

“We do a quotation after which I spend my own money for the project. I charge the cost on top of my fee.”

“Sometimes the grass and flowers fail. At this point, I identify the problem and advise the client accordingly.” To do this, he has had to learn to identify different types of soil, the nutrients available and what type of fertilisers and chemicals to use for the plants.

“There are times when a client will see certain flower species elsewhere and introduce them in their home. Through experience, I can advise whether those flowers will do well based on the soil type and quality. I also have to consider if they will blend well with other plants in the compound.”

Besides managing plants, has learnt to build fountains and artificial waterfalls for landscaping. While most clients pay well, he says some will underpay or delay payment.

So, how does he juggle different jobs for different clients?

“Landscaping is a long-term project that takes between three and four months to complete. After planting grass, for instance, I visit the site regularly to make sure it is well watered and weeded. This allows me to take on other projects.”

The faster he can finish one project the sooner he moves on to the next one. “There are times when I hire more hands to help me.”

Prepare meals

He hands over projects to clients as soon as the grass has been trimmed for the first time. “I make sure I have shown the family gardener how to take care of the project. After receiving my cheque, I move on to the next project.”

Some families invite him for subsequent projects and others refer him to their friends.

“For every job I pick, I always target three or four more jobs to come from it. I do not know the people who hire me personally. Usually, we will not have met before. It is my work they will have seen somewhere. So, doing a decent job is imperative.”

For Ronny Tom, a professional chef, nothing could be more exciting than cooking for the city’s middle-class families. Ronny works as a private chef for homes and occasionally cooks at events.

His specialty is African, Indian and European cuisines.

“Families call me over to prepare dishes for them, especially when they are hosting guests, either at home or outdoors. Most of these jobs involve several courses of meals. I do barbecues as well,” explains the chef, who has been practicing for seven years.

While he likes to stick to the culinary rulebook for different dishes, this chef experiments with dishes to prepare and present them in different styles.

“Reading expands the scope of what I can prepare and, therefore, the number of clients I can engage.” Besides understanding different cuisines, Ronny notes that one must be keen on people’s food preferences to succeed as a private chef.

“Some do not take sugar, salt, or oil. Others won’t touch spices. You cannot blunder, especially when medical conditions are involved.”

He adds: “By working as a private chef, you get to experience how different Kenyan families live, their standards, comforts, and challenges.”

This job, though, is not always a pleasure cruise, he warns. He must also report to work early in the morning even when the meal is for dinner, to get all the required ingredients in place ahead of the actual preparation.

He has had access to hundreds of homes, hosted by different families, kind and hostile alike. “Understanding each family is key. There are also frustrations. Some clients are impatient and thankless. The secret is to be professional, to do your job and leave.”

As more play golf

Richard Kilile spends his days at the golf course at Karen Country Club where he works as a caddie.

The young man fends for his family by assisting golfers, a job he says is satisfying and well-paying. Other than understanding different clubs, tees, and golf balls, no specialised skills are required for caddying.

On regular days, he works for two clients, each paying between Sh1,200 and Sh1,500 for a round of golf. “Some clients are at the course by 6 am. By mid-morning, we are done with a round. I take a break and assist another client in the afternoon.”

“Most clients will play two or three times a week and pay at the end of the week,” he says, noting that he can make up to Sh12,000 in a week or Sh45,000 in a month.

“New clients pay after the match. This allows me to take care of daily expenses at home.”

The popularity of golf has been growing steadily in the country, with more middle-class embracing the sport. This growth has seen the number of golf courses in Kenya more than double in the last 20 years, including in estates. Nairobi alone, for instance, has more than 10 golf courses, with more in neighbouring counties.

More courses translate to more golfers. More golfers mean more people such as Richard making a living by working as caddies. Like Mbugua, Richard says referrals are at the core of a caddie’s job. “When you do a good job for your clients, they refer you to their friends. This means I do not go without gigs.”

Linus Maranya has perhaps one of the easiest jobs in the city. For the last 25 years, Linus has lived off walking dogs for expatriate and Kenyan families.

“I’ve been working for foreigners for many years. I engage expatriate families for the entire duration of their stay in Kenya, which ranges between four and five years,” he says.

There is no limit to how long he can work for a Kenyan family, he says, unless they have moved out of Nairobi. With more people keeping pets, Linus is assured of work.

The job, adds, has allowed him to learn about dog breeds and the needs of each.

“I walk dogs for three or four families. I will usually walk them three times every week. Currently, I have a client whose dogs I walk for six days.”

Walking a puppy for an hour fetches between Sh300 and Sh400 while a large dog earns him Sh500 and more. Linus’ clients pay him weekly wages while others settle his dues at the end of the month.

“I have raised and educated my three sons up to university. They are now working. I can take care of my needs comfortably,” he answers when I ask him how much he earns.

Play with pets

Other than dog walking, he grooms and trains them. He tells BDLife that he plays with the pets for a fee.

“I train both mature dogs and puppies for extra income. Training them pays better, but the jobs are fewer than those for walking them.”

To maximise his earnings, he gardens for several families in the Westlands and Lavington neighbourhoods. He says: “I just need to plan my days well. Over the years, I have found a way of getting the right balance.”

Now 57, he says walking dogs allows him to live an active life.

Then there are pet groomers who have capitalised on the growing lifestyle of pet keeping. These professionals attend to dogs, cats, parrots, and tortoises, cleaning them, clipping their nails, brushing their teeth and fur and even trimming their coats.

Dr Brown Muuo, a veterinary doctor based at Poseidon Veterinary Clinic in Nairobi, says that while pet grooming has been done by vets for many years, there is a new crop of freelance groomers who visit homes offering the services.

Today, there are multiple pages on Instagram and Facebook of people marketing themselves as pet groomers.

“Pet grooming is more than just improving the appearance of a pet. It also involves controlling ectoparasites such as mites, ticks and fleas by using medical shampoos,” Dr Brown explains.

He adds that dogs make up 90 percent of pets that are groomed.

He notes, though, that no curriculum teaches pet grooming, and that practitioners have to learn the skill through practice.

Between 20 and 100 pets arrive at Poseidon per day, according to Dr Brown, with several pet groomers employed to attend to them. To groom one’s animal at clinics such as Poseidon, no appointment is needed. It is animals that require medical appointments that must be booked in for attention.

“Some pet owners who cannot come to the clinic call us, after which we arrange for pick-up and drop-off of the animal. We charge them on top of the fee,” he says.

Working as a private chef, Ronny says, is flexible and allows him to maximise on rest and to take up only jobs he is comfortable with.

“I consider this freedom as the biggest reward from this job. I have been employed in a restaurant before. The environment was too chaotic for me and I could not survive.”

Mbugua agrees. “I would never take up employment. It cannot pay me as much as freelance gardening does. Being employed would tie me to one employer. I like the freedom that comes with working for different clients.”

For Richard, it is the ability to engage clients of choice that is his delight.

“Different people play golf on different days and times of the day When my main clients are not available, I can work for whichever golfers are playing. These interactions open me up to diverse experiences.”

Dr Brown has this to say to pet owners: “It’s important to have your pet groomed regularly. It not only keeps your animal neat but keeps it healthy as well. I cannot emphasise the hygiene of pets enough. When you let your dog’s fur overgrow, it becomes a breeding ground for fleas and ticks which are a nuisance to both the animal and yourself.”

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