‘Selling animal feeding troughs keeps me fed,’ Boniface Macharia

For the past one year, Boniface Macharia has been eking a living by turning old tyres into flower pots and animal feeding troughs.

“Most dairy farmers use buckets to give water to their cows. However, once the animal kicks or steps on the bucket, it breaks and can no longer be used,” says Macharia, who worked as a car mechanic for many years.

He cuts old discarded tyres into half and attaches a piece of wood to seal the bottom.

“The tyres are durable and do not break even when the animals step inside the trough,” he says.

Macharia has set up his rubber troughs business in Chaka Market in Nyeri County on the Nyeri-Nanyuki Highway.

“I chose this place for my business because it has a high traffic from various parts of the country. Most farmers in Kieni Constituency shop at the market,” says Macharia.

He says that he buys old tyres from various mechanics and truck drivers, with one tyre going for Sh600.

“Once I buy the tyres, I cut them into halves. I then turn each half into an individual trough. I can paint or make different designs on them, depending on what the client wants,” he says.

The troughs are sold at different prices, with the largest retailing at Sh900 and the smallest at Sh600.
Macharia says the business is brisk as more farmers embrace his product: “This business is good because I am recycling materials that would have been thrown away and turning them into money to feed my family.”