The Sunday Mail
WE sat dejectedly pondering our next move a day after Christmas when an elderly woman came asking for my nephew, a well-known carpenter at Kuwadzana Home Industries.
She wanted her sagging ceiling to be effectively and efficiently repaired.
“Mukoma Tindo, ndine basa guru kumba kwangu. Ceiling yangu irikuda kudonha, apa tine vayeni varikuuya, saka uyai muzoigadzira. Mari yenyu iriko,” she said, as she spoke to my nephew in a tone that suggested they knew each other pretty well and had previously done business together.
Without wasting time, a receipt book was pulled from an old drawer full of nails, screws, nuts and disused glue containers. My nephew subsequently scribbled some figures in cursive with a jumping pen before demanding a tidy deposit in US dollars from the woman.
After the woman faded in the distance, we dashed to the nearest drinking hole to quench our thirst.
When I asked whether he would manage to complete the task within the expected time frame, I was quickly reminded: “This is not the newspaper industry. We do not eat morals. We are here to make money and while you are still at that, you can enjoy a second one.”
Welcome to the world of self-styled entrepreneurs, where professionalism is alien. All they care about is money. In this world, which is largely dominated by carpenters, welders, panel beaters, spray painters, electricians and satellite dish installers, among many other tradesmen, a lot happens every day that one can write books about.
People who work in home industries do not know each other’s real names except for nicknames derived from one’s stature like “Toro” for someone who is tall, “Shorty” for a short person and “Dhafu” for a stout person.
If you happen to have twins, you are likely to be called “Baba Two”. Some traders are also known by their totem, while others are named after their craft; for example, “Majegi” for someone who repairs hydraulic jacks and “Mafiriji” for someone who fixes fridges.
Looking for someone using the invoice they gave you can be a nightmare because these folks exchange receipt books or buy them from one individual. All they care about is making money. It is not uncommon to find tradesmen and their customers quarrelling at home industries early in the morning due to poor workmanship, customer dissatisfaction and arguments over money.
Police sometimes have to intervene to either recover money paid by customers for a service that has not been rendered or stolen items.
Some tradesmen seeking to make the most out of areas they operate from usually turn them into convenient dwellings.
“Times are hard these days and I see no reason why I should pay huge rentals elsewhere when I can just sleep in my shop. Ndinongorara muno mwachewe. Mangwana ndomuka ndotenga sadza rinobikwa muno and zvangu zvaita,” one carpenter told this writer straight in the eye.
Fights are also common in the home industries, where traders fight each other over clients, tools and other things.
It can turn ugly at times. However, in home industries, every day is Christmas, as tradesmen squander their earnings in the hope and belief that tomorrow will take care of itself.
“Tomorrow is another day. If you keep money, you wont get more. You have to spend more to get more and you never go hungry,” said one of the craftsmen, whose dirty worksuit had seen better days.
Shebeens, drug peddlers and prostitutes also operate in the home industries where there is a ready market for their products and services.
Touted as the turbines of economic growth, a lot needs to be done to correct the views and operating procedures in home industries for the benefit of the nation.
Inotambika mughetto.
