Deaf carpenters push limits of disability

By ABIGAEL SUM

In a busy neighbourhood in Nairobi’s Buru Buru estate, a furniture business is evolving.

Passing by, the smell of wet paint; the sound of a saw hacking timber and the deafening noise of a hammer striking a nail, would be too much to ignore.

At a casual glance, you see furniture on display outside a shop and, farther inside, piles of sawdust shield pieces of unfinished furniture.

Welcome to Bony’s Furniture. But this is not your ordinary furniture shop. Once inside the shop, the uniqueness of the business begins to unravel.

The carpenters work in silence. And they won’t even speak to you.

Bony Okumu, his partner Karim Okiki and all the other employees are deaf and dumb.

Sh60,000 price

At the entrance of the shop is an old cupboard — atop it an exercise book and a pen.

Inside, a woman is seated waiting for the carpenter to finish a coat hanger.

“I came here after a friend recommended me and since then I have been a regular customer. They do a wonderful job. They have never disappointed me,” says Mary Wanja.

Dangling nearby is a sign written “Bony”, a phone number and the words “Please SMS only”.

A man dressed in blue dust coat approaches, picks the book and pen, scribbles something and hands it to this writer.

The note reads: “I am Bony. How can I help you?”

This is how our conversation begins. Putting pen to paper is their mode of communication with those who cannot use sign language.

“I love my work more and more each passing day. I’m used to communicating with customers in writing, but I also use text messages to transact business. It’s challenging but inspirational. I am happy I am able to stand on my own now,” writes Okumu.

The two have employed five young carpenters, all deaf. They are paid depending on the work they do and the number of items they make.

“We are not biased because we employ deaf people only. We were once defrauded by an employee who took advantage of the fact that we could not hear what he was saying, so employing the deaf is a precautionary measure although we intentionally give them opportunities first,” says Okiki.

Okumu says after completing Class Eight at Bondo Primary School, he was not lucky enough to attend secondary school and after a while he enrolled at Nyangoma Training Institute for the Deaf where he studied carpentry. He graduated in 2005.

His first job was, however, as a bakery attendant, but in 2007 he quit and decided to focus on what he knew best — crafting furniture.

“That is how I ended up in this shop. Later on my friend, Okiki, and I bought it from our employer at Sh60,000 and renamed it Bony’s Furniture. The location of the shop is great because of the high population in Buru Buru which creates market,” he says.

Okumu’s wife Maureen Otieno, a seamstress in Dandora, gets praises for being patient, understanding and supportive of the business.

“I am happy with what he does and I am proud of him because he is good at it,” she says.

Okumu and Okiki leave home at 5.30am to open the shop by 6am. Both live in Dandora. They close shop at 6pm.

Okiki has no formal training in carpentry. He says: “Okumu taught me the art of carpentry. Now I can do almost everything. We bought the shop to empower other deaf people because many of them do not have jobs and lack adequate skills to be employed in other areas. There’s a lady who was just staying at home with no job and so I called her, trained her and now she is part of us. We decided to incorporate other deaf people to give them an opportunity to earn a living”.

They also take in apprentice students and help them hone carpentry skills.

Okiki explains that when new customers arrive at the shop, the first thing they do is talk to them since they do not know they are dealing with deaf people. To make communication easier, all employees here have to find a way of telling customers from the onset that they are deaf.

“Some take long to understand while others become pleasant and we end up doing business. Others just walk away to other shops. It is interesting when customers who have no knowledge of sign language try to interact with us. Communication between us and the customers is, however, a challenge most of the time. We understand English better than Kiswahili and if some use the latter, it becomes difficult to understand them and figure out what they want especially since we don’t have an interpreter. We, therefore, try to communicate by either writing, drawing, using body language and even pictures of different designs and samples of the furniture we have already made,” he says.

Okiki says even though he might want to try something different, it is difficult because of communication. “I just find myself coming back to carpentry,” he says.

His motivation is drawn from the fact that carpentry is the only job that sustains him and his family.

“It was really challenging and hard for the first two years. We were a small business and the fact that we are deaf made it even harder and having competitors a few metres from here did not make things any easier,” says Okiki.

The two hope to open up other disability workshops so that they can create more job opportunities for the disabled as well as build better structures to attract more customers. They also want to employ an interpreter.

Pen and paper

“Through our regular customers we get new ones. We rely on their word of mouth as a way to market our business. Some come back, which is a sign that they appreciate our services, while others are intimidated by the fact that we cannot speak or hear. We have since been able to get more customers, orders and so the business has expanded over the years,” says Okiki.

While others use the power of the mouth, Okumu and Okiki have mastered the art of bargaining using pen and paper.

It is interesting to watch Okumu giving instructions to his employees and attending to customers who leave with a smile on their faces. The smiles and giggles as they chat is a delight.

They make several designs of sofa sets, beds, baby cribs, drawers, shoe racks, among other furniture, depending on clients’ specification.

The two point out that with many carpentry and furniture shops opening up, the bar for carpenters and furniture dealers has been raised. But the cost of business, space to set up or expanding the business remains a challenge.

Bony’s Furniture team hopes to change the notion that people with disabilities like seeking help.

“Just because one is disabled, it does not mean one is doomed or destined for failure. Use what you have for example hands, legs or even other talents like singing or acting. I am disabled but I have risen to where I am now not because someone helped me but because of my hard work and determination,” concludes Okumu.