Prime
Making a fortune from building toilets
A pour-flush toilet under construction.
What you need to know:
Pour-flush toilet. Each latrine he constructs costs between Shs40,000 to Shs1.5m.
His success story was borne out of the often shunned Lugogo trade fair. The trade fair that was organised by Uganda Manufacturers Association last year at Lugogo turned out to be a blessing for Mr Isaac Namakoola (37) of Mbale. Until today, Namakoola hinges the success of his latrine construction business on this annual activity.
“I got over 30 orders after showcasing my innovations last year here at the exhibition. It was the best deal in my business life and it was a jump starter for me. I have never looked back since then,” Mr Namakoola narrated to our reporter on a visit to this year’s trade fair.
At the trade fair, was a well built pour-flash latrine that was being exhibited and attracted many viewers. This is a type of latrine designed with an outlet connected to a water source right outside the latrine. The water is used to empty the pit whenever it is full. The user drills out the human waste using a pump that is connected to the water tank. He pumps water into the toilet through the pipe then sucks up the diluted waste.
This year’s trade fair two weeks ago, was yet another opportunity to widen Mr Namakoola’s customer base. On the third day of the exhibition, he had secured 45 orders to accomplish within the next three months. With each latrine constructed going for between Shs40,000 to Shs1.5 million, he will be banking at least Shs3 million as side profits after accomplishing this work.
But his journey of profitable latrine construction did not just start off yesterday. It has grown over time. Although a despised job, he, through the guidance and help of a business development Firm- Captiva Communication in partnership with Water for People, has seen his business grow.
“We work with private sector and individuals to ensure sustainability of their health and sanitation related businesses through marketing their product, promoting it , teaching them financial managerial skills like how to balance books, how to access loans from banks and banking tactics,” Ms Joan Asiimwe Captiva Communication’s Business Development said.
It is this partnership that has seen his business make big strides. Having started out as a constructor at Mt Elgon Hotel in Mbale 10 years ago, he acquired and mastered his building skill over the four years he spent there. The minute pay forced him to move into private business of general construction. While doing this, he accumulated wealth worth Shs30million in construction equipment, a vehicle and liquid capital.
Although he accumulated all this money, he used up most of it for financial prudence was an unknown virtue in his life. “I would earn between Shs20,000 to Shs30,000 each day while I would go penniless on other days when there was no work at all but I hardly used to save,” Mr Namakola said.
In addition, he had no reliable labour and would keep picking on the young boys roaming in town to help him out whenever he had an assignment to accomplish. While working at one of his cleint’s homes, Mr Frank Millshot’s home in Ntinda, he was advised to join an organisation that would help him take his business further.
He joined the Water for People organisation in 2010 and this turned out to be his turning point. He told the organisation how he was pursuing his construction career and immediately won their support and favour since his business was in line with sanitation and hygiene, the organiation’s key focus. Through their guidance, he specialised in pit latrine construction.
“They came in handy in marketing my service and teaching me financial prudence, virtues that were not a part of me. They opened up new markets for me among the upscale customers and further opened for me my account in one of the banks in town to manage my finances,” he told Prosper magazine.
Whereas he was applying the traditional way of constructing pit latrines, Namakoola was taught modern ways of pit latrine construction. Among them are pour-flush latrines, toilets and latrines with seats. He is also engaged in rehabilitation of latrines and toilets to offer them a new and modern look.
With all these duties in line, pointing towards increased market for his business, his job creation ability has also grown from using one turnboy to five and to over 20 employees. With these, in a good month he finishes over 15 pit latrines in time, on which he earns about Shs150,000 as profit.
“I was in Kapchorwa a few months ago where I constructed 16 latrines and saved good money- about Shs600,000. That was a good month but in a bad month, I may not construct any latrine,” he said.
The increased marketing has seen his business gain ground on both the local market and within the region. His services are now sold to Rwanda and he hopes to extend them to Burundi and Kenya to increase his profit base. He also hopes to move away from latrine construction to assembling them, a method he believes may be more expensive but of better quality and as well less straining.
