By Enock Okong’o
The Kisii University VC Prof John Akama has appealed to county and national governments to give local sculptors finances to help them form cooperative societies. This, he said, will remove the middled men who exploit them and assist in marketing their products directly to buyers.
“It is heartbreaking to see these hard-working people baking in the sun for long hours and end up getting peanuts from their labour,” he said. He was addressing Soapstone traders at Nyachenge Market in Kisii County.
Revealing that soapstone is not found anywhere else in the world except at Tabaka in Kisii, he said residents had learned the trade for more than five decades yet they were languishing in poverty as the middle men rode fancy cars.
Middle men buy these products at about 50 shillings and sell them abroad at between sh.500 and sh.10, 000.
He asked residents to seek advice from the government on forming Saccos and sharpening their skills to add more value to their products.
The VC asked local institutes like the Kisii National Polytechnic to incorporate in their curriculum wood and stone sculptor courses to enable children perfect the art they inherit from their parents.
