Your're Fired !!! You're Hired.

One of the hottest jobs at Neema Crafts is the ceramics area where there is a kiln for firing pottery and fusing glass for jewellery. This week the kiln was fired up by one of the potters, Maneno. 

The kiln was designed by a visiting specialist and can fire up to 45 mugs at a time. It is designed to run on sawdust bought from the nearby saw mill. The sawdust is placed in a large hopper and fed into the kiln by a series of pipes.

Last week we introduced Agustino who was making hanks of wool ready for dying. This week the hanks were dyed and left out to dry in the same work area as the kiln.

One of our tailors is Julius. He was the first born in his family, but because of his disability of having undeveloped legs he was not regarded as of any value, and hidden away at home. 

As an adult he made some meagre money by sewing sacks by the side of the road. One day, the farmer who owns the farm we visited last week noticed him and offered him a job. Julius’s skills were later recognised by Neema Crafts and he was trained as a tailor. He is now one of the most productive workers here.

One of the schemes of Neema Crafts is to raise funds to build houses for the workers to buy at a discount. With his earnings Julius saved enough money to purchase a plot of land and to make a 5% contribution to the cost of building a house on it. The 2 roomed house has recently been built and is just waiting for doors and windows to be fitted. (Julius will think about installing electricity and water sometime in the future). When we visited last week he was levelling the garden by hand and plans to rebuild the 50 yard track leading to his house, again by hand. Enabling staff to own their own homes is a key step in making them valued members of their communities.

We sometimes think that certain people should be hidden away. In the following video being shot for one of the UK companies who assist Neema Crafts by supplying rolls of felt at cost price, someone makes an un-welcome appearance (taking the photo of Julius above)

You’re fired!