Hustle Gang: Mending old shoes made me a landlord

By Nairobian Reporter | 3yrs ago | 2 min read

**Francis Wachira has bought a pickup and built four one-bedroom rental houses from his cobbler business.**

In the serene Kwazulu Cresent neighbourhood in Nairobi’s Kasarani estate, sits an elderly man on a dusty bench; a ragged apron on his thighs and old boots firmly held in his hands.

His name is Francis Wachira, the estate cobbler but also a landlord of one of the estates in that neighbourhood.

Wachira’s journey to owning property is long winding and dates back to 1986 when he moved from his Nyahururu shags to Kasarani to start life as a small peasant farmer in 1986. He never owned land but took advantage of absentee land owners to sustain his grind.

Since his night job in the city didn’t bring in much and farming is a seasonal project, he began mending shoes. Surprisingly, business was good and he started saving.

Over 30 years on, Wachira has bought a pickup and built four one-bedroom rental houses.

“Kushona viatu ndio kazi yangu maishani (shoe-repair is what I have done all my life). I have been at it for over 35 years and still counting. I have managed to save some little money to build my rentals and buy my car,” the father-of-three said.

Wachira has also educated three kids: two to high school and one to college.

“What matters is dedication and determination in any job. For me, all my efforts are on shoe-making. This is what I think of all the time because I believe that hard work pays,” he said.

He adds that honesty and quality work is the secret for his success.

“I respect all my clients to whom I offer quality work. They have built trust in me and they don’t ‘cheat on me’ with other cobblers,” he said.

It is 35 years down the line, and the senior cobbler is not retiring anytime soon. The 62 year old says he wants to build more houses.

“Here (pointing at his office) is where I get money. I have nowhere to go so I will work here for as long as possible. My prayer is to save more and continue building,” he said.

“I took much longer to finish building the houses because I had less resources. I could hire constructors for a short period, say two weeks, then relax until I gather more materials and cash. Thank God I never gave up,” he said.