Seated pensively in his butchery, Lawrence Omwoyo is sure of taking home something for his family.
The father of five, three boys and two girls, is busy attending to phone calls while at the same time packing meat according to the orders he has received from his customers.
The butchery is situated along the Kisii-Migori-Kisumu road junction, about two kilometres from Kisii town.
He sells both beef and goat meat with customers preferring take-away while others go for choma in a kiosk which has started attracting even matatu touts operating at the nearby bus stage.
Situated at a strategic position, Omwoyo usually receives orders from his customers to either boil or choma while others prefer that he packs so that they can collect for the take away service.
Some of his clientele do park their vehicles to buy because they appreciate and understand his services which range from cleanliness (hygiene) to efficiency.
Omwoyo’s customers range from passengers, passersby, villagers and matatu touts who line up for his services as they come in droves.
He was born in 1973 and being the first born in a family of three boys and three girls, and when he recalls the life they underwent, he strives to work harder so that he can move on an extra mile.
He told this writer that he started his small business with just 10 kilos of meat which he used to buy from a slaughter house at Nyakoe market. By then, recalls Omwoyo, the transport was only Sh20 which meant he could use Sh40 per day to and fro.
By traveling 12 kilometres to and from Nyakoe market daily, he realised that he will make a difference out of the savings he was making.
He says that at the slaughter house, they used to sell him at Sh180 a kilo of meat while at his butchery; he could just try to get some small profit to build on.
Some of the hotels he supplies his meat include Mash Park, Magharibi Gardens, Good Morning Motel and Nyangena Highway.
Omwoyo first joined St Joseph’s Nyabururu Primary School where he finished Standard Eight in 1991 and could not proceed to secondary school because of the poverty situation that faced his parents.
Immediately, he dropped out of primary school, he was lucky to get a friend who employed him as a store keeper in Kisii where he worked until 1994.
He later left for Nairobi and still got employed in the same store as a storekeeper where he worked for three years until 1997 when he changed and got employed in a butchery where he worked for two years and later left to join masonry.
All this time, wherever he got assignments, he used to get tools from his friends to use in his daily chores.
When he left his former job of as a mason to start the butchery business, little did he know that he would come this far. Omwyoyo hails from Botori village, Mwamosioma sublocation, township location in Kitutu Chache South constituency.
Among the challenges he faces are that some customers who come for credit fail to come back and this has affected his profits which he relies on fend his family.
The other challenge is that during the drought season, cows reduce kilos because of lack of food.
Omwoyo believes in one thing, customers are used to good meat and you must live up to their expectations.
The good thing about his business is that he has never heard of herds of cattle being stolen for slaughter and being sold to customers since he started the business.
Omwoyo always buys his cows from Daraja Mbili market, Matongo, Riosiri, Nyakoe, Mogonga and from Luo Nyanza.
Normally, he buys cows according to the market prices and has always achieved some profits out of his struggle to improve his business.
He says that his future aspirations is to open a branch at Nyakoe market and the Kisii central business district as there are some potential exist there coupled with creation of employment.
The father of five, three boys and two girls, is busy attending to phone calls while at the same time packing meat according to the orders he has received from his customers.
The butchery is situated along the Kisii-Migori-Kisumu road junction, about two kilometres from Kisii town.
He sells both beef and goat meat with customers preferring take-away while others go for choma in a kiosk which has started attracting even matatu touts operating at the nearby bus stage.
Situated at a strategic position, Omwoyo usually receives orders from his customers to either boil or choma while others prefer that he packs so that they can collect for the take away service.
Some of his clientele do park their vehicles to buy because they appreciate and understand his services which range from cleanliness (hygiene) to efficiency.
Omwoyo’s customers range from passengers, passersby, villagers and matatu touts who line up for his services as they come in droves.
He was born in 1973 and being the first born in a family of three boys and three girls, and when he recalls the life they underwent, he strives to work harder so that he can move on an extra mile.
He told this writer that he started his small business with just 10 kilos of meat which he used to buy from a slaughter house at Nyakoe market. By then, recalls Omwoyo, the transport was only Sh20 which meant he could use Sh40 per day to and fro.
By traveling 12 kilometres to and from Nyakoe market daily, he realised that he will make a difference out of the savings he was making.
He says that at the slaughter house, they used to sell him at Sh180 a kilo of meat while at his butchery; he could just try to get some small profit to build on.
Some of the hotels he supplies his meat include Mash Park, Magharibi Gardens, Good Morning Motel and Nyangena Highway.
Omwoyo first joined St Joseph’s Nyabururu Primary School where he finished Standard Eight in 1991 and could not proceed to secondary school because of the poverty situation that faced his parents.
Immediately, he dropped out of primary school, he was lucky to get a friend who employed him as a store keeper in Kisii where he worked until 1994.
He later left for Nairobi and still got employed in the same store as a storekeeper where he worked for three years until 1997 when he changed and got employed in a butchery where he worked for two years and later left to join masonry.
All this time, wherever he got assignments, he used to get tools from his friends to use in his daily chores.
When he left his former job of as a mason to start the butchery business, little did he know that he would come this far. Omwyoyo hails from Botori village, Mwamosioma sublocation, township location in Kitutu Chache South constituency.
Among the challenges he faces are that some customers who come for credit fail to come back and this has affected his profits which he relies on fend his family.
The other challenge is that during the drought season, cows reduce kilos because of lack of food.
Omwoyo believes in one thing, customers are used to good meat and you must live up to their expectations.
The good thing about his business is that he has never heard of herds of cattle being stolen for slaughter and being sold to customers since he started the business.
Omwoyo always buys his cows from Daraja Mbili market, Matongo, Riosiri, Nyakoe, Mogonga and from Luo Nyanza.
Normally, he buys cows according to the market prices and has always achieved some profits out of his struggle to improve his business.
He says that his future aspirations is to open a branch at Nyakoe market and the Kisii central business district as there are some potential exist there coupled with creation of employment.
No comments:
Post a Comment