Women enterprising in blacksmith sector
May 30, 2005
IT is a clear morning. Muzaana zone in Kisenyi echoes a cocktail of noises. Artisans in shanty workshops clobber different metals to make a variety of items. The atmosphere is clouded by maize flour emanating from the forest of mills.
By John Kasozi
IT is a clear morning. Muzaana zone in Kisenyi echoes a cocktail of noises. Artisans in shanty workshops clobber different metals to make a variety of items. The atmosphere is clouded by maize flour emanating from the forest of mills.
Men and women endlessly criss-cross the vicinity like bees collecting pollen and nectar. The place is a perfection of the typical African industrial slum.
As I approach the Jua Kali valley, Sebastian Elesu lifts his head. He recognises me as he castes aluminium into the saucepan mould.
“we are pleased to see you,†Elesu said with a smile before ushering me into a fabricated metal seat. Nearby, two women were busy casting metals.
“Isn’t it risky for women to engage in this kind of work?†I asked Elesu.
“Times have changed. Women are taking emancipation seriously. The demand for things, which is increasing, which forces all of us to work. So women can no longer sit back home,†he answered.
Elesu is a member of the Jua Kali Aluminium Moulders Association, a local fabrication industry in Kisenyi’s Muzaana Zone.
The association formed in 2002, has 320 members, with over 30 of them women.
The group moulds items like weighing scales, motor spareparts, machine scrappers and saucepans of between size one and six. Elesu says they export some of their products to Rwanda, Tanzania, DR Congo, Sudan and Kenya. Over 1,000 of their saucepans cross to Kenya every week.
Elesu insisted that if there were plenty of scrap metals, he was capable of casting over 200 saucepans of varying sizes in a day, while their association could cast over 1,000 saucepans.
“We use charcoal to melt the scrap. Then for moulding them into different shapes, we use plastic basins or the same products on demand. If they are not available, we use timber shaped in that form.†The association is registered with Uganda Small Scale Industrial Association and Gatsby, an NGO based at Makerere University’s Faculty of Technology.
“Grace Arengo, the Katakwi district local women’s councillor, is the first woman in Uganda to take up artisan moulding. She was followed by Loyce Ayoku Engemu,†said Eselu.
“To exhibit her prowess, Arengo donated the Court of Arms to President Yoweri Museveni through minister Grace Akello two years ago,†Elesu said.
Ayoku is the first wife to Julius Engemu, the brain behind this fast growing industry in Kisenyi.
“I have been in this industry for about 16 years. I have trained all my children, including my daughters. I work with them during the holidays,†she says.
In her 40s, she boasts that one of their children has just graduated, while the other is soon completing university. “I remain with two, one in Senior One and the other in Primary Seven. I use the money from this trade to pay for their tuition.†she says.
Elesu said her sister Ayoku shops for the scrap materials, aluminium, brass, zinc, copper and lead.
“All this would not have been possible without Engemu. He taught us the art of foundry. He is our father, pioneer and mentor,†said Elesu.
As we enter their workshop, he calls Engemu: “mzee, mzee?†Mzee emerges. Eselu murmured something to him in Ateso.
“Nice to meet you,†mzee said as he extended his hand to greet me.
“This is mzee Julius Engemu, the founder of an association called Okweny ainyam.
The mzee said he had been to Kisenyi since 1987. “I was carrying out metal casting in Soroti before coming to Kisenyi.
However, when insurgency resulted into lack of materials, I came here with six people, including Elesu.
Currently, the number has swollen to over 320,†he recalled.
“I acquired the skills while working in Bunya in the DR Congo in 1979,†Engemu said.
When the factory where he was working closed, he returned to Soroti and put his skills to use.
“We all respect him (mzee Engemu). Many people are employed because of him. At times we work seven days a week,†Elesu said.
The association plans to open up a vocational institute to train the youth. They want to train people, but because they do not have a place, they meet only on Saturdays.
“But the developments they have so far achieved do not stop the government from assisting us. We need capital and moulding machines like the crucible to improve the technology,†added Elesu.
Elesu said although President Yoweri Museveni visited them in 1999 and promised them moulding equipment and working capital, the promise has not yet been fufilled.
IT is a clear morning. Muzaana zone in Kisenyi echoes a cocktail of noises. Artisans in shanty workshops clobber different metals to make a variety of items. The atmosphere is clouded by maize flour emanating from the forest of mills.
Men and women endlessly criss-cross the vicinity like bees collecting pollen and nectar. The place is a perfection of the typical African industrial slum.
As I approach the Jua Kali valley, Sebastian Elesu lifts his head. He recognises me as he castes aluminium into the saucepan mould.
“we are pleased to see you,†Elesu said with a smile before ushering me into a fabricated metal seat. Nearby, two women were busy casting metals.
“Isn’t it risky for women to engage in this kind of work?†I asked Elesu.
“Times have changed. Women are taking emancipation seriously. The demand for things, which is increasing, which forces all of us to work. So women can no longer sit back home,†he answered.
Elesu is a member of the Jua Kali Aluminium Moulders Association, a local fabrication industry in Kisenyi’s Muzaana Zone.
The association formed in 2002, has 320 members, with over 30 of them women.
The group moulds items like weighing scales, motor spareparts, machine scrappers and saucepans of between size one and six. Elesu says they export some of their products to Rwanda, Tanzania, DR Congo, Sudan and Kenya. Over 1,000 of their saucepans cross to Kenya every week.
Elesu insisted that if there were plenty of scrap metals, he was capable of casting over 200 saucepans of varying sizes in a day, while their association could cast over 1,000 saucepans.
“We use charcoal to melt the scrap. Then for moulding them into different shapes, we use plastic basins or the same products on demand. If they are not available, we use timber shaped in that form.†The association is registered with Uganda Small Scale Industrial Association and Gatsby, an NGO based at Makerere University’s Faculty of Technology.
“Grace Arengo, the Katakwi district local women’s councillor, is the first woman in Uganda to take up artisan moulding. She was followed by Loyce Ayoku Engemu,†said Eselu.
“To exhibit her prowess, Arengo donated the Court of Arms to President Yoweri Museveni through minister Grace Akello two years ago,†Elesu said.
Ayoku is the first wife to Julius Engemu, the brain behind this fast growing industry in Kisenyi.
“I have been in this industry for about 16 years. I have trained all my children, including my daughters. I work with them during the holidays,†she says.
In her 40s, she boasts that one of their children has just graduated, while the other is soon completing university. “I remain with two, one in Senior One and the other in Primary Seven. I use the money from this trade to pay for their tuition.†she says.
Elesu said her sister Ayoku shops for the scrap materials, aluminium, brass, zinc, copper and lead.
“All this would not have been possible without Engemu. He taught us the art of foundry. He is our father, pioneer and mentor,†said Elesu.
As we enter their workshop, he calls Engemu: “mzee, mzee?†Mzee emerges. Eselu murmured something to him in Ateso.
“Nice to meet you,†mzee said as he extended his hand to greet me.
“This is mzee Julius Engemu, the founder of an association called Okweny ainyam.
The mzee said he had been to Kisenyi since 1987. “I was carrying out metal casting in Soroti before coming to Kisenyi.
However, when insurgency resulted into lack of materials, I came here with six people, including Elesu.
Currently, the number has swollen to over 320,†he recalled.
“I acquired the skills while working in Bunya in the DR Congo in 1979,†Engemu said.
When the factory where he was working closed, he returned to Soroti and put his skills to use.
“We all respect him (mzee Engemu). Many people are employed because of him. At times we work seven days a week,†Elesu said.
The association plans to open up a vocational institute to train the youth. They want to train people, but because they do not have a place, they meet only on Saturdays.
“But the developments they have so far achieved do not stop the government from assisting us. We need capital and moulding machines like the crucible to improve the technology,†added Elesu.
Elesu said although President Yoweri Museveni visited them in 1999 and promised them moulding equipment and working capital, the promise has not yet been fufilled.