This archive report was first published on 22 June 2021.
June 16, 2021, marked a day when Meshack Amoyi Shisoka was spotted at his workshop in Emulundu, Lurambi, Western region. He was one of the few blacksmiths still holding onto the traditional trade.
Blacksmiths were once highly valued for their specialized skills in forging iron tools and weapons. However, their trade appears to be dying gradually, with few artisans still practicing the craft.
Caston Savana, 36, a blacksmith from Kakamega Central Sub-county, argues that utensils and tools crafted from smelted iron are of the best quality and safe to use compared to those manufactured in aluminium and steel factories.
"The current generation might not know about blacksmiths, but those who have been around for over five decades appreciate me and my products," Savana says.
Despite the decline of the trade, Savana and a few others are still clinging onto it. They say products produced by ironworkers are valuable, rare, and distinct, and are among traditional trades that survived after the Industrial Revolution.
"Unlike in the past when blacksmiths were old men, nowadays the youth have ventured into the trade as a source of livelihood due to scarcity of jobs in the country," Savana says.
He has been in the trade since 2010 and earns a profit of Sh4,000 on a good day, with an average monthly profit ranging from Sh12,000 to Sh23,000.
The business has enabled him to put up a three-bedroom semi-permanent house and buy two dairy cows. He is also able to pay his children's school fees with proceeds from the trade.
Meshack Shisoka, 66, a blacksmith from Bukura in Lurambi Constituency, has been in the trade for 27 years. He learnt the skills from his late father and fabricates a range of products, including ceremonial spears and traditional bracelets.
Shisoka charges Sh3,000 for each ceremonial spear and Sh2,000 for traditional bracelets, which symbolize power and are hereditary.
