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AFRICA CALLING |
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Leonard Mutisiya: An innovator, fabricator and a teacher |
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Jua Kalis are a group of micro enterprises in the informal sector of East Africa that work in close proximity in dedicated areas of various towns in the region. “Jua Kali” in Kiswahili means the hot sun. This refers to earlier times when they conducted their business out in open, under the burning sun. Major microenterprises in the Jua Kali centre include metal work and machining, woodwork, automobile repair and maintenance, and many other shops that sell goods from recycled materials like flip-flops made out of recycled rubber.
The Jua Kalis have been in Kenya well before the liberation of the Kenyan Republic. Over the years the Jua Kalis Association’s influence increased. The Jua Kalis now extend in further corners of East Africa right into Uganda, Burundi and Rwanda1.
Leonard Mutisiya is one of the veteran Jua Kalis in Machakos. He is well known among his peers for his windmills and other devices like carousels. Leonard had made many models but sold only 13 in the last ten years. He has encountered a problem with the windmill motors a problem he has not been able to fix.
Born in Machakos in 1950, Leonard joined the Jua Kalis in 1983. After a few years working as a Jua Kali artisan he had acquired. He saw a few windmills on a television show where they said that they had commercial benefit. He already had good grasp over developing electrical systems attached to mechanical parts. So, he thought he could put his skills to good use if he makes the windmills.
The first model he made was made out of bicycle spares in 1993. It had three blades with a length of 6.5 inches. It was functioning well but generated little power.
In the next ten years, he made four more models before settling down on a final version.
In the second model he made he used spares and bearings from cars. This reduced a lot of friction and generated much power. This model had four blades but these again did not generate sufficient power. The third model had six blades and smaller bearings. This increased the power but not by much. He then made the fourth model which had eight blades but generated a satisfactory model. However, the motor used was very heavy.
His final model, the Apollo 5, that he completed in 2004 used a much lighter model. He has sold 13 pieces of this model since then.
This model is not perfect; he is facing many problems in converting from DC to AC. The conversion he says is not effective. Therefore, he is looking for people who can help him fix this issue. This was a precondition he laid that the message should reach maximum people so that people can find solutions to his problem.
Apart from doing regular fabrication, he also teaches new Jua Kalis about DC to AC conversion and other electrical and mechanical concepts. He has attained enormous goodwill in the Jua Kali centre. He rues the fact that many people have come and taken knowledge from him about which he has no regrets but very few have given him back any knowledge.
Expanding its work beyond the Indian shores, SRISTI is facilitating the transfer of three low cost technologies to Kenya : (a) Planting - Honey Bee Dibbler; (b) Cultivation - Honey Bee Tiller (also termed as “Bullet Santi”); and (c) Post-harvest processing of farm produce - Honey Bee Food Processing Machine. The program which has been funded by USAID is going to take place over three years starting from October 1, 2013. For more details, please visit http://www.sristi.org/cms/sristi-usaid
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| Volume No. |
Honey Bee 25(1) 21, 2014 |
