Banish the cold with Colin Mundia's made-in-Kenya jackets

Collins Mundia (right),shows how the body warmer jacket , which is powered by a motorcycle battery works, on June 15,2016, at his place of work at Itara Estate in Nyeri Town . On the left is his wife Elizabeth Maina. (PHOTO: KIBATA KIHU/ STANDARD)

According to the Kenya Economic Survey 2016, Malaria and respiratory infections have continued to be a leading cause of death since 2011 contributing to 53 per cent of all deaths caused by diseases in the country.

The survey found that in 2015, pneumonia killed 1,504,809 Kenyans majority of whom were children. It was also observed that an increasing number of those affected by respiratory conditions are motorcyle operators.

These operators are exposed to the vagaries of weather in their every day work which makes them susceptible to diseases such as pneumonia.

It is to address this that Colin Mundia and Elizabeth Maina, from Nyeri County, have created an electric leather jacket which they say can reduce incidences of respiratory infections among cylists more so boda boda operators.

The body warmer jacket is designed using locally available materials such as leather, woolen blankets, a 12 volt DC regulator and several carbon fibre strips of cloth which act as insulators.

“I came up with the idea in December 2015 and we started doing our research to enable us make our first jacket,” Mundia said.

At the time, the couple was based in Mombasa and during his research he discovered that the same kind of materials used to heat scuba diving gear can be customised to make these jackets.

“Our first option was to import the jackets and sell them but after assessing the international market prices we discovered that the cheapest electric jacket retailes at Sh18,000 which was too pricy for us,” Mundia said.

They then decided to make the jackets locally and engaged local tailors and electricians for advice and expertise. Once the jackets were made, the team relocated their business to Nyeri County where they were sure to sell them due to weather conditions.

“The jacket is made like any other ordinary heavy duty leather jacket. However, the chest area is lined with strips of carbon fibre which are then attached to a regulator in the seam of the jacket,” Mundia said.

Once the jacket is complete, it can be connected to a charging outlet which can be the motorcycle battery or an electric socket.

“The regulator ensures that only 12 volts of direct current are used to heat up the jacket to the desired temperature required by the client,” he said.

Also, to avoid overheating the jacket, the carbon strips are only lined along the chest area within the jacket folds which is the best way to keep the entire body warm. The jacket design also includes reflector strips on the back and front for better visibility at night.

The jacket retails at Sh3,700 and clients can also order a non-heating leather trouser to accompany the jacket.