For Daniel Maina, Wood Stumps Drip Designed Profits
Updated on: Jan 29, 2021
His unique craft of converting tree stumps into adorable furniture has earned Daniel Maina the nickname 'Maina wa Ithuki'.
The nickname is popular in Laikipia especially in Nyahururu and its surroundings. Maina is an innovator whose art of in curving out a living from tree stumps.
He has a background in self-trained carpentry and joinery after his high school education. His passion saw him continue with the same work for 12 years. However, competition became stiff and he had to be innovative to remain relevant in the market.
The background knowledge helped him in being creative and using available materials from felled trees to make more worthy commodities. He started making simple structures like stools and hawking them in Nyahururu and Nairobi.
His business, registered as Wood Drips Designs has since grown and has a capacity to cater for 30 customers concurrently.
"Currently, we have a capacity to manage 30 customers at a go. We are very professional in what we do and customers are confident," said Mr. Maina.
The business has directly employed two workers after training them on the skills of making durable products. The two help Maina in making the different types of furniture. Other non-permanent workers that get manual jobs from the enterprise are the ones who may excavate the raw materials. These people come from the area the material are and get their wages upon completion of the task.
According to the innovator, getting people to acquire the right skills to convert tree stamps to admirable products require patience and concentration. Some people who have been enrolled have given up on the way before getting to a stage of making unique equipment from the raw materials.
"One of the persons I have trained and who really helps me at producing these products is my son. I am happy that there is an assurance of continuity of this enterprise in my family," says Maina, adding that his son is one of his employees despite him being in a higher learning institution.
Maina, who joined the Laikipia County innovation programme in 2018, is hopeful of starting a training institution as he would like to help more people in acquiring the skills that lack in other learning institutions.
We would like to start a training institution that will help us in equipping more people with our unique knowhow to help making use of tree stamps found across the country. Such material should never be left to decompose in the shamba, rather should be used to make useable and durable furniture, he said.
He cites lack of certificates or documentations to show that the enterprise has trained an individual as the main challenge for him not starting the learning institution.
When it comes to marketing, Wood Drips Designs is never out of customers as their unique designs attract customers. Most customers come from referral from a single person.
"When one person buys our products, others ask of the people who designed it and add to our customer base," says Maina.
For an experience of the unique products from the Laikipia innovator, contact Maina wa Ithuki on 0728 948 715.
The nickname is popular in Laikipia especially in Nyahururu and its surroundings. Maina is an innovator whose art of in curving out a living from tree stumps.
He has a background in self-trained carpentry and joinery after his high school education. His passion saw him continue with the same work for 12 years. However, competition became stiff and he had to be innovative to remain relevant in the market.
The background knowledge helped him in being creative and using available materials from felled trees to make more worthy commodities. He started making simple structures like stools and hawking them in Nyahururu and Nairobi.
His business, registered as Wood Drips Designs has since grown and has a capacity to cater for 30 customers concurrently.
"Currently, we have a capacity to manage 30 customers at a go. We are very professional in what we do and customers are confident," said Mr. Maina.
The business has directly employed two workers after training them on the skills of making durable products. The two help Maina in making the different types of furniture. Other non-permanent workers that get manual jobs from the enterprise are the ones who may excavate the raw materials. These people come from the area the material are and get their wages upon completion of the task.
According to the innovator, getting people to acquire the right skills to convert tree stamps to admirable products require patience and concentration. Some people who have been enrolled have given up on the way before getting to a stage of making unique equipment from the raw materials.
"One of the persons I have trained and who really helps me at producing these products is my son. I am happy that there is an assurance of continuity of this enterprise in my family," says Maina, adding that his son is one of his employees despite him being in a higher learning institution.
Maina, who joined the Laikipia County innovation programme in 2018, is hopeful of starting a training institution as he would like to help more people in acquiring the skills that lack in other learning institutions.
We would like to start a training institution that will help us in equipping more people with our unique knowhow to help making use of tree stamps found across the country. Such material should never be left to decompose in the shamba, rather should be used to make useable and durable furniture, he said.
He cites lack of certificates or documentations to show that the enterprise has trained an individual as the main challenge for him not starting the learning institution.
When it comes to marketing, Wood Drips Designs is never out of customers as their unique designs attract customers. Most customers come from referral from a single person.
"When one person buys our products, others ask of the people who designed it and add to our customer base," says Maina.
For an experience of the unique products from the Laikipia innovator, contact Maina wa Ithuki on 0728 948 715.
