Southeast of Nairobi, on the way to Mombasa, is the "neighborhood" of Josaku. Amidst the dirt streets and small "compounds" that all look pretty much alike is one where the roar of a gas furnace marks the location of Alisim Glass Studio. Go through the corrugated steel gate and to the left, you'll find several piles of broken glass - the raw materials that Simon Munyua and his wife Alice Nyawira use to produce glass beads. Enter the workshop, and you might see workers drawing glass beads from a pot of molten glass in one of the two gas-fired glass furnaces.
Alisim Glass Studio is ALSO a glass recycling business. They collect broken stemware from restaurants, empty bottles, broken windows, and the like - all of which get melted down in the furnaces. Although their raw materials are basically free, bottled gas is a major expense since they can easily go through a 12kg tank of gas in a day. (Incidentally, the piles of broken glass have an interesting side effect: their reflectivity helps to trap moisture in the soil and allow Simon and Alice to grow the only three banana trees in the entire area!)
Simon is the creative master-mind of the business. Trained in art, and especially in glass-work, he loves to teach others about his craft. Alice handles marketing by showing their work at local markets, where they do both retail sale of jewelry as well as wholesale sales of their hand-made glass beads. She also "refines" the creative ideas that Simon conceives to ensure they are marketable. Although Simon occasionally does stained glass work, the beads and products made from them (jewelry, beaded curtains, etc.) provide the majority of their income. So although Simon likes to create beautiful "art pieces", as he said he doesn't want to create pieces that will only have value after he is dead!
We asked Simon and Alice about their dreams for the business. Beyond providing for their family needs and ensuring their two children - Maureen (12) and James (9) - receive a good education, they dream of being able to consistently employ others within their immediate community. Due to the lack of jobs in Kenya, many young men are unemployed and Simon desires to provide employment for them lest they "escape" into drugs or alcohol. There are also a number of single mothers who need jobs to support their families. Although he would not be able to put words around it, Simon has the heart of a "social entrepreneur".
Pictures of Alisim Glass Studio
