From GSU camp to lucrative coffin making business

By TITUS TOO

Uasin Gishu, Kenya; Each time the Kenya security services are recruiting, young people rise to the occasion to try their luck of joining the men and women in uniform.

And when one quits the force for a coffin making and funeral services business, it is difficult to fathom.

But that is what Joseph Kandie, 56, did; he quit to start his business in the North Rift region.

When he started the business, he endured many ups and downs but never gave up; he soldiered on.

His greatest challenge was to overcome the traditional and cultural barriers from his community, which has strong beliefs against coffins and viewing the dead.

“I wanted to venture into a unique business and when I started this, I was a pioneer in the Kalenjin community,” says Kandie, adding that his business comfortably takes care of his family.

When he welcomed this writer for an interview at Mutio Kitwek Coffin Point, located near Trocadero Bus Stage in Eldoret town, some of his clients were coming for orders they had placed for earlier.

With a soldier’s mien, the self-disciplined and neat Kandie excused himself to assist an employee in the workshop to serve a client who had turned up to collect his order; a coffin.

“When I started the business, people close to me avoided me. Maybe they thought something was wrong with me. Inside me, I had a vision to change this kind of perception because this is just a business like any other,” says Kandie.

He notes that the trend has, however, positively changed since 2006 when he established the business. Kandie says he has made more friends and customers who utilise his services.

Roots

A native of Kapsiro village, Marichor in Keiyo South constituency, Elgeyo/Marakwet County, Kandie joined the General Service Unit (GSU) in 1980 and served for nine years.

He decided to leave the force in 1989 because of his urge to change profession and landed another job at the Moi University Eldoret, where he served in the department of transport and security.

Kandie worked diligently for his employer as a driver. He also viewed his engagement in the new employment as a genesis to his self-employment that propelled him to his current success.

“I worked as a driver at Moi University between 1990 and 2001. When the School of Medicine was established, I used to be sent to Chiromo Mortuary in Nairobi to collect cadavers to be used by students for practical purposes,” he says. 

The experience informed the choice of business that he finally settled upon.

He notes that a few years after he left Moi University, he resolved to start the coffin workshop after pooling his savings as starting capital in 2006.

“I had enough courage for this business and I established connections to market it. I printed business cards that effectively marketed my business and soon, I gained regular customers,” he says.

He says his choice of business, just like any other enterprise, has encountered many challenges, such as competition, material costs, rent and licence levies, among others which he has effectively managed to overcome.

Virtues

“My secret to the success of the business has always been honesty and trust. The two virtues have kept my customers coming back for more or connecting me to new clients,” he says.

Kandie is an employer as well. He has employed four people and apart from coffin making, he also offers transport services and a casket-lowering machine.

The entrepreneur says they make different varieties of coffins whose prices range between Sh5,000 and Sh50,000 depending on the type of timber and designs used.

He also has elaborate plans of expanding his business saying he intends to purchase a public address system, cameras for recordings and tents so that he provides full services that are required during funerals.

To him, time is of the essence and he reports to work as early as 6am and closes shop at 7pm or much later, depending on the amount of work.