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Transcript/ScriptKENYA FISH LEATHER CLOTHES (TV/R)
HEADLINE: Kenyan Innovator Making Leather Clothes from Fish Skin
TEASER: Newton Owino collects discarded fish skins and turns them into leather products like jackets, hats and shoes that get exported to fashion markets in the United States and Europe
PUBLISHED AT: 8/24/23 at 4:20pm
BYLINE: Juma Majanga
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: Kisumu, Kenya
VIDEOGRAPHER: Amos Wangwa
VIDEO EDITOR:
ASSIGNING EDITOR: Purnell Murdock
SCRIPT EDITORS: DLJ; CAW
VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA Original
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV __ RADIO __
TRT: 3:26
VID APPROVED BY: MAS
TYPE: TVR
EDITOR NOTES:))
((INTRO)) [[ A Kenyan innovator is recycling fish skin into leather clothes through a process known as fish skin tanning. As Juma Majanga reports from Kisumu, Kenya, Newton Owino’s enterprise also aims to sustainably manage waste emanating from the fish filleting industries along the Lake Victoria coast.]]
((NARRATOR))
It’s sunrise in Kajulu village overlooking Lake Victoria and another busy day for Newton Owino.
Growing up in the area, Owino saw the challenges posed by fish waste on the lake environment. Today, he recycles discarded fish skins, turning them into leather products like hats and shoes that are exported to fashion markets in the United States and Europe.
((Newton Owino, Fish Leather Entrepreneur (English, 29 secs))
“I came from a school of thought that environmental solutions can only be found locally; you don’t need to solve it from outside. You can only look for local solutions to your problems. And therefore, I felt like I could develop business enterprises out of those problems.”
((NARRATOR))
The tanning process uses plant-based organic products that are sourced locally. Owino pays women, youth and people living with disabilities to collect the fish skins before processing them and making the leather products.
Maximilla Achieng, a fish vender in Kisumu, is among those impressed by Owino’s idea.
((Maximilla Achieng, Fish Vendor (Swahili, 19 secs))
“Before, the fish skin was useless. We could just dry it and use it as firewood because we didn’t know any other way to use it. But now we use it to make products like shoes, belts, jackets, bags and so on.”
((Radio Track: She says that before, the fish skin was useless. They could just dry the skin and use it as firewood because they didn’t know what else to do with it. But now, she says, they use it to make products like shoes, belts, jackets, bags and so on.))
((NARRATOR))
Achieng’s sentiments are echoed by shoemakers like Fredrick Okuma.
((Fredrick Okuma, Shoemaker (Swahili, 11 secs))
“Leather from fish skin is really good. It makes durable high-quality shoes which customers prefer.”
((Radio Track: Seated in his shoemaking shop in Kisumu, Okuma says that leather from fish skin is really good. The leather makes for durable high-quality shoes which customers prefer.))
((NARRATOR))
According to local government officials, Kisumu hosts nine fish filleting industries, producing approximately 150,000 metric tons of fish waste annually – 80 percent being in the form of fish skin, which lets off a strong odor when decomposing and in high concentrations can contaminate the water.
((Radio Track: Farida Salim is Kisumu County’s minister of tourism, trade and industry.))
((Farida Salim, Kisumu County Government (English, 30 secs))
“We are looking at the material recovery centers where waste is separated and weighed and sold, the people who are bringing waste into the recovery centers are paid. It is the same thing that we want to do with the fish waste. Now you know it’s not waste, it’s money."
((NARRATOR))
Owino says his enterprise aims to sustainably manage waste emanating from the fish filleting industries along Lake Victoria.
((Newton Owino, Fish Leather Entrepreneur (English, 7 secs))
“Our business is anchored in protection of the 4 H’s; animal health, plant health, environmental health and human health.”
((NARRATOR))
It’s also a profitable business, he says, and the demand is much higher than what he can produce. He is currently working on expanding production.
With the increasing effects of climate change, populations are increasingly developing an environmental conscience, increasing the demand for such sustainable products like recycled fish leather.
((Juma Majanga, VOA News, Kisumu, Kenya))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Location (dateline)
Kisumu, Kenya
Embargo DateAugust 24, 2023 18:32 EDT
Byline
Juma Majanga, VOA News
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
