It’s a Tuesday afternoon; I am walking down a dusty street in Kimihurura towards CSS-ZIGAMA bank to get some money. Two women are seated alongside this dusty street enduring the scorching sun and the dust but patiently waiting for customers, they are charcoal sellers. Unfortunately I am not a potential customer but a journalist who wonders how much they earn from that rather painstaking business.
Reading the need for money on the two faces, I develop a desire of releasing 1000 francs to contribute to their income since I was not going to buy from them, but had no cash with me only hopes that I would on my return route.
Still seated under the hot sun, these two ladies still saw a charcoal customer in me but since I had got some money now I knew it was a story for me thus moved towards them with a smile on my face and handed Frw 500 hundred note to of the women while the other rushed to pick a khaki paper bag bearing in mind the money was for paid charcoal.
“Oya mama ni mwakire†literally meaning no mama have this, with a lot of excitement they begin blessing me and that’s when a friendly atmosphere is created for me to ask more about their earning from charcoal selling.
One of the women, Chantal Muliisa 28 who lives in the Kimihurura-Rugando says that it’s from this charcoal business that she has managed to educate her four children who are in primary five and four at Ecole De Kimihurura.
She however she adds that there is a big secret in selling charcoal since many people in Kigali demand on charcoal for fuel.
“You know many homes rarely use firewood so charcoal is on demand here. There are no customers at this time of the day, many having finished their cooking but by evening they will be surrounding this place in need of charcoal,†Muliisa says.
Asked if she is happy with the business, Muliisa says that of all the businesses ventures she has tried, the charcoal business has earned her a lot and she does not regret. She said that she has been able to clears big debts and paid school fees for her children and young cousins in primary six.
“Since we are few charcoal sellers in this particular area all money comes to us. We earn a lot because all the charcoal we bring gets finished in the evening of the same day and very early we shop for more from Nyabugogo†Muliisa adds.
Her colleague Anonciata Umutoniwase is not married but takes care of her elderly parents since she is the youngest and the only surviving child in the family after the 1994 Genocide.
Umutoniwase aged 26 says that she cannot give up selling charcoal because it has helped her solve many problems.
“You can’t believe that I began selling charcoal three years after the Genocide, (1997) when I was considerably young but it is through this business that I have managed to rent a big house for my parents and their close relatives. At first I thought life had come to an end because by that time I was the youngest and all my brothers and sisters had been killed, it was a friend that gave me the idea of selling charcoal believing that the business would help me out since it is always on demand especially here in Kigali,†she said.
Umutoniwase has seen her business expand for last ten years; she has been able to employ other people who include Muliisa her partner at this particular point while there are other similar businesses across Kigali in areas like in Kabeza, Kanombe and Kimisagara.
Umutoniwase is not about to marry since she wants to first own a house then can think of marriage.
Finding out that there are bosses even in charcoal business is amazing but this boss is dressed just like her employee. When asked as why she has to dress and sell the charcoal her self, Umutoniwase said that she has mastered the selling language that she cannot afford to sit by and watch other people sometimes failing her business.
“When you want money you have to bow even when you are a boss I don’t mind who says what, provided I leave for home with enough money. We enjoy this work because we earn a lot and understand each other†says Umutoniwase.
Among the challenges faced by these charcoal sellers is the fact that during rainy seasons the charcoal gets wet and very few people manage to access their place of work which is a distance from residential houses.
“When it rains everything comes to a stand and we can’t sell like on the sunny days, infact it is hard to find customers who cannot endure the rain.
We make more money when it shines than when it rains†says Umutoniwase.
These two women are satisfied with the charcoal business. Whereas the passersby may look at them with sympathy and think they are desperate, poor or leading a miserable life. It’s not until you approach them that you will know how they rejoice in their business.
Charcoal selling has done these ladies well and so far they seem satisfied with the charcoal business because they earn over 40,000 francs from all their small branches around per day.
By PATIENCE UWITONZE
Rwanda Travel and Safari Guide
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