So after my previous hekaya you learnt a part of the brighter and the darker story of my business life. The mighty fall of a flamboyant young gasilllionaire.
After hiyo hectic story I had a plan B.
But troubles na Mimi were inseparable. In fact we were twins. Even the nature itself couldn’t put us asunder. From mid 2010 to late 2011 i had a good gas bizz…life was good sice the bizz had thrived very fast. Cash was in plenty. But After running buncrupt, i had to find a way out. The second money making option. Singenyamaza tu hivyo kama vile babu yangu alikuwa akinishauri “kunyamaza kama kigoro”. Village sponsors kigoro ni nini? Mi najua tu its a greek word. All in all my life had abruptly changed. Nilikuwa nakanyaga na rims. I had cultivated a different circle of frnds, surroundings and businesses. I wanted to try anything else but not a similar idea to gas bizz like the one I had.
I pre checked the list of the expected bills should I continue living in Nairobi my Fren, nikaona sitatoboa. Utabiri wangu haukuwa wa kudanganya. I called a close Fren mwenye alikuwa ananisaidia sometimes with his canter to supply stock when my only “the late” canter was hospitalized. Jamaa alikuja faster. I cleared everything from the house and transported all my stuffs at home. The little cash I had, I was planning to leave nrb and never return. Go eat life in 001 pesa ikiisha nitajua wat next. I visited the county, spent a week but saw nothing much I could do there apart from selling omena pale likoni, nianze uvuvi ama nianze kuuza funny funny Swahili foods in the streets. Apaaana. Nikarudi ocha. I had sixteen k. I had a million business ideas but the problem was enough capital. My CRB status couldn’t allow even mshwari to kopesha me hata Soo mbili. Na vile hapo mbeleni nilikuwa Na limits poa. They could okolea me na kedo thate fae then nalipa na kaintetest kidogo. Now, I acted like a financially crippled business starter. My mind settled on farming. Not just farming but poultry farming. Atleast my dad was so supportive but he never liked the idea of poultry. He wanted me try something else less demanding. He thought that since nimeishi kuwa mtu wa mtaa I won’t meet the demands of this kind of farming.
Thanks to my humble upbring coz whatever I settled on was nothing much knew from what my agriculture teacher taught me in highschool. Nikiwa kipii that is what I used to do when that sucking kameat hadn’t been removed. We also had a wide variety of poultry so sikuwa dunder vile Kwa hii maneno.
Ujanja wangu pia ukanionyesha niingie pale msemakweli kusearch ma ideas. Thanks google. Ile doh nikatumia kujengea cubicles plus nikanunua some kienyeji kukus from the village. Start up number was 20hens and 5cocks. The broiler ones that time hazikuwa zinafetch much like those kienyejis. Nikabuy chicken wire then fenced our compound. I also bought their feeds na hiyo mahesabu nikamaliza. I wondered how hard and demanding the farming was as dad said nikajijazia tu labda hakuwa anataka nichafue compound.
After 4months I had brooded more than two hundred chicks. One main advantage of poultry is that they can sustain themselves in terms of feeds coz you can sell the eggs then buy feeds with the cash. Na bado ubaki na quite enough profits.
When cold season came i minimised hatching ama inaitwa brooding rates and mostly sold eggs to the local canteens, shops, hotels and to some neibas.
With a total of about 200 chicks I had a target of selling them when mature ones around Nov ama Dec the same year. Nov ikifika I was planning to be having another set of kienyejis to sell in dec. Nikimaliza za Dec i would be having another set for Jan. And the process continues. Marketing wasn’t a big issue to me. Kuconvice customer kubuy kuku was easier than convincing a customer buy gas mtaani.
Nikaingia pale mtandaoni ndiyo Olx ilikua inashika kasi nikaangalia where to get a good market around my areas. I landed on a post that looked like 8months old that required one to supply 500kienyejis a month to a certain hotel in Embu. I was hesitant to call the number but Muraika Gaburieli akanitembelea na kunishow nijaribu. First call…number busy.
Second trial…number busy
I even never gave a third attempt. Wajua maneno ya ocha kukaa na simu kwanza karibu karibu Na maji ni kama kuchezea moto. Ile design ya kuchoma polythene paper na candle kisha umwagikiwe na hiyo fluid. I had left it indoors then went tending my poultry. After like 2hrs ndipo nilipata like 10missed calls from a new number. It was a lady. She had that sweet voice like the one
"hello and welcome to sufferingcon my name is Lissa how can I help.,.?
Hell no, the sweet metallic voice said, “Hello. This is (insert title) hotel service desk. My name is Tabby. Sorry you tried calling us via 022000…”
Haki ya nani ile sauti ilikuwa tamu. I chuckled my self as I interrupted.
“Madam natafuta accommodation room that can fit a couple on honeymoon. How much is it and which is the best facility you can advice me to pick for just one day and a night?”
"Ookaay, We have a regular lot with spaceous rooms, hot shower, and a medium sitting room for 8k one day. We also have the VIP at 12k with master rooms and a discount of free breakfast in the morning.?
We talked for minutes then promised to previsit the hotel and booking the best room before nilete mchumba. Hii yoote ilikuwa vako.
I left home neatly dressed and rose to the occasion wearing a nice fragrance, at least nisifike nikinuka kuku ama jasho. I took care of “first impression”. I wanted to box that lady. In the afternoon at around 2pm I was at the hotel reception. I found just one nigger seated on the desk that i only hoped to get occupied by Tabby. I was informed that she’s just with in but she can’t handle the subject that brought me there.
Nikaitiwa manager. Looking on the wall in the managers office was that nice calender with the hotels main staff. I swear Tabby was the selling brand in this hotel. Her cute baby face plus a moon like smile she wore lighted the whole picture that had other human sketches. Her beautiful curvy and sexxy body made you feel the urge to visit more and more. Names were well labbled. I fell in love with the calendar karibu nikatie huyo dem kwa picha. But singechoma picha coz something else more Important had brought me there. Illusions of her whole imaginated figure crisscrossed my mind. Sauti niliyosikia trully matched this yeloyelo beauty. It never lied.
The hotel’s manager asked how can he help me. Nikamshow Mimi ni mkulima nafuga kuku and I can supply them with kienyejis at affordable prices. The guy looked at me akanidharau.
"Young man, are you out of mind? Do you know the difference between a banker and a farmer? Ama umekuja hapa mchezo?
Nilicheka kimadharau kama yeye pia nikamshow hata kama mimi ni mkulima i deserve to be a clean smart and presentable guy. Sio kuungia kila place your appearace shouting your title more than the words can do. But i swear i had decently dressed for Tabby.Nikamshow hii deal akiicheza poa atapata tip smart. We talked and later came to agree. The guys had lacked a competent unfailing supplier of chicken for months and bought my idea faster after kuwashow i can manage to supply 200 chickens per month. Each hen was going to fetch me 13dollars, then each cock 15dollars.
Yeye Kwa hesabu yake alifanya each hen at 15dollars and each cock at 17dollars. He was to make a total of 100 dollars in the first supply. We agreed that I’ll supply them with fifty in the following week. Deal done. I left the office towards the reception up to the gate looking right left kama ‘Wanugu’ trying to trace “my Tabby”. I never saw her. Nilibaki nikiuliza mbona hawangeandika contacts zao badala ya jina kwa ile calendar. I could av clammed it right there. It’s like betting game ya arsenal vs mancity. Arrrg.
I never gave up i promised to revisit the place again once nitakuwa nikipeleka kuku. Nilisuplly the first bunch of birds nikapata Ksh 90,400. Nikaenda nikiulizia Tabby wangu. I was informed that ako leave kiasi. To avoid raising ufisi fishy suspicions I never enquired more.
I patiently waited for the next supply the following week. Nikapata another ksh 68400. Tabby was still on leave.
Third week I was to rauka on Monday morning with my chickens at the hotel. By 5:30 am i was on toes. I was all alone at home. Kwenda kufungua chicken den all of them were dead asleep. Nikajiuliza kwani hizi kuku zimeamua kudoze design gani Leo. Hata wale jogoo hurauka kuwika jamani. They were all silent. Hehehe. Kuzishtua hazikuamka. Kugusagusa zimekauka kama kuku-sama pale Kenchik. I almost fainted. I searched for anything in there that might have killed them ikakosa. Nikatafuta mnyama yeyote humo ndani found just nothing. More than two hundred chicks and more than one hundred suplly for the next two weeks ilikuwa mofofos. Even if I sold each at 1200 ningekuwa Na more than 240k.
I swear i did shed tears.
Nikaingia pale mtandaoni tena kujifanyia research. Nikaona kuna ugojwa ya kuku- chicken flu husababisha zote kudedi. It mostly affects unvaccinated chicks.
I called the manager kumshow vile kumeenda hakuamini. Akasema its a lie labda i have gotten another dealer nataka kumgeuka. Akatumana witness akuje ajionee isikuwe mchezo. He lamented that the hotel would loose much profits nikijaribu ushenzi kama huo. Nikamwambia haya basi tuma witness.
After like fote fae minutes I heard someone knock our gate. Guess who. Taaaaabbbbbyyyyyy.
I never gave up there…
.,…
Next episode.