Thi!Thi!Thi!Thi!Thi!….That is the sound of the sledge hammer, demonstrating its autonomy over the hard tough rocks of the hills overlooking Chinyonga. When it is all said and done, the rocks and pebbles will be but tiny particles. A vast line-up of stonemasons can be seen from a distance, starting from Central Area all the way to the formerly Bedir Primary School, present day Pachi Academy. It is the Nasdaq, Dow Jones and London Stock Exchange of stone.
A Ford Wild track, Volkswagen Amarok and a King Kan exchange visitation of the place in quick succession. The wild track driver, in an all-black attire, is first to arrive at the area. He meets one of the stonemasons. After a while of discussing, he speeds off. Then comes the majestic Volkswagen Amarok. The German made car brings a lot of attention to the scene. Other stone-smiths can be seen murmuring and drawing close to where it stops. An Indian lady comes out and starts to talking to one of them. After a few minutes the small stones are shoved into the back of the Amarok. The German machine then exits the scenery and the gaze of the stone masons escorts it till it disappears. Whether the gaze signifies the amazement at the selling luck that one of them had or appreciation of the well-crafted female being that was driving the car, we shall never know. The King Kan’s arrival at the scene is of no good. Exchanges of words are heard from the selling groups and the people in the big truck. From the look of things, it is evident that the two groupings are disagreeing on price of the ‘common’ earths.
The stone-breaking business is increasing more and more along hilly places of like Manja, Chinyonga, Machinjiri and Kachere among many others. Perharps it is due to the rising demand to build mansions resembling the Taj Mahal, The Parthenon, The Colosseum as well as the Opera house. ‘Mitchana ya ma BT siikutchila’…. [roughly meaning the bourgeoisies of BT are not playing around]. At the very preamble of the process, the big stones are covered with firewood and worn out tyres. Then a big fire is set in order to soften the covered stones. Afterwards the softened stones are rolled over to the breaking site for the next process. It is a daunting task.
But for all the efforts these stone-masons put, mediocre returns are earned. Complaints are raised on how they do not how a specified market as well as them lacking pricing power. ‘aah akumatibela mabiggywa’ [roughly meaning, these ‘big shots’ are robbing us] ….one reacts.
But what can we do to bail out our heroes and heroines of stone? Ehem…. exhaling is key before we can think of anything tangible.
The eleven lines feel there is need for individuals in this industry to work together. There is a vernacular modern proverb that says ‘mgwirizano ndi nyonga’…. [meaning unity is strength]. Yes, it must be a unified stonemasonry industry. From Kachere all the way to Machinjiri, there should be groupings that oversee the day to day business they operate in. They must form cooperatives.
A cooperative is a business or organization or other organization which is owned and run jointly by its members, who share profits or benefits. Cooperatives started way back in 1844 and one of the notable cooperatives then were the Rochdale pioneers of England. The group comprising of weavers and skilled traders created business principles to guide their work and established a shop in which to sell their goods. Increased pressure from the changing market system was the driving force in their decision to move toward cooperation. The returns were immense.
Cooperatives are advantageous in a way that they become a legally recognised entity hence ensuring credibility. In this way possible customers can trust that the goods or service they are getting is reliable. These groupings also ensure that control in terms of price and other decisions is by members. Also, as you may know that a grouping is not only about business. Members are able to inspire each other morally so that they can work for the betterment of their families and society.
Take the example of Kwithu Kitchen, a Mzuzu based women-owned food processing cooperative. The grouping is in the business of procuring, processing and selling garden fresh tomatoes in glass jars and their products are found in leading chain stores in the country, commanding quite a huge customer base.
The same bag of opportunity can be thrown to our stone men and women and many other businesses deemed ‘small’. The eleven lines believe that businesses at any level must begin to question the existing models and adapt futurist models that are easily scalable and address the current and future needs of customers.
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