Forget gold, fish bone bling now the in thing

BY HAROLD AYODO

Caroline Ogot cautiously rummages through a heap of Nile Perch bones at the Shinners Centre in Kisumu.

She does this to verify if the fish bones from the sprawling Obunga slums are fit for making jewellery. Satisfied, Ogot pays each of the women Sh600 for the fish skeletons they have delivered to the centre.

Creative artists have put into good use fish bones, which once gave the Kisumu Municipal Council a nightmare. Nowadays it is hard to come across heaps of fish bones in dumpsites.

The ornaments are popular, even fashionable women proudly wear them. From their fancy look, one would not imagine they are made of discarded fish bones.

"The discovery is godsend," says Ogot the project co-ordinator at Shinners Centre, a community organisation.

"We mainly rely on women from Obunga for the bones known as mgongo wazi, a delicacy in the slum," says Ogot, a trained teacher.

Mgongo wazi are Nile Perch frames left after extraction of fillet by processing firms, mainly for export to Europe.

Fish skeletons

Mgongo wazi comprises the head, backbone and tail and are first sun-dried then deep-fried and sold in poor neighbourhoods. Besides its high nutritional value, the fish frames are pocket friendly. A family of seven can feed on one with a plate of ugali.

Ogot says the first step is to cluster the bones according to body parts and sizes.

"There are bones that are fit for earrings, necklaces, amulets and pendants of different designs," says Ogot.

Ogot says most clients like the jewellery due to their artistry and simplicity.

"There is a growing demand for local products and ornaments made out of fish bones are no exception," she says.

Steve Siaka, one of the artists who uses mbuta (Nile Perch) bones to make an array of jewellery, says the process is demanding.

Siaka, who is also an actor with Betta Theatrix, says the first step is to remove the strong smell of mbuta.

"We first boil the bones in a huge sufuria and pour the water out. We then repeat the process after which we add vinegar," says Siaka.

The bones are clustered according to size and groups, those that get broken during boiling are separated. They are then sun dried.

"We use sand paper to file them into attractive shape and also remove the sharp edges that may prick the wearer," he says.

Different colours

The fish skeletons are dyed using different colours.

"We mix the bones with different African beads to create variety of patterns," says Siaka.

The last stage is to ensure that they are body friendly before applying vanish for a shine. The finished products are then packed ready for sale," says Siaka. Ogot says the ornaments that sell at between Sh50 and Sh100 attract locals and tourists.

"We started the project to take care of 72 disadvantaged children at our centre, where we raise money for food through sale of the ornaments," says Ogot.

The centre has taught some of the children under its care who developed an interest in the jewellery the trade.

"The children insisted on being taught after watching the artists curve beautiful ornaments out of fish skeletons," says Ogot.

Ogot says American and Australian clients are bold and prefer bigger sizes of the jewellery while Britons go for smaller sizes.

"Most socialite women prefer purple ornaments as the colour is not only feminine but shows authority, organisation and love," says Ogot. Many widows from Obunga slums now earn a living from the sale of fish skeletons.

Take the case of Clementine Awino, 48, who left her job as vegetable vendor in Obunga to gather the bones.

Sharp edges

"I take two sacks of mbuta bones to Shinners Centre every month and earns Sh1,200 — far much more than I made in vegetables," says Awino.

The mother of six says she can now feed her six children and bed-ridden husband.

She has become the envy of many, some who initially scoffed at her decision to quit the grocery business. Awino, whose eldest child is 24 and the youngest is 10, has taken the bone collection business as a full time job. Ruth Obong’o, 36, who has three children, says she can feed her family thanks to the project.

Obong’o’s work is it to boil the fish bone before they are dried and sandpapered.

However, Siaka says the job has it fair share of challenges the major one being injuries caused by the skeletons’ sharp edges.

"The bones have pierced my palms on several occasions but practice makes perfect… today I am more careful," says Siaka.

He uses a small pair of pliers to cut the big bones, sand paper to smoothen and glue to join the pieces together.

"My dream is to get more clients as motivation to make more jewellery," says Siaka.