by Natachi Onwuamaegbu
with help from Dianne Saliamo
Photos by Elsa Kariuki
Kenyatta Market has always meant stability for Ruth Katinda Mutuko. And even now, 20 or so years later, not much has changed.
Ruth’s story is a normal one, a good one. It reminds us that Kenyatta Market is not just a place of turnover and ups and downs.
As we spoke, the two of us huddled in the corner of her shop, trying not to disturb her customers. One was having her hair blow-dried, the other chatted animatedly on the phone. But through it all, Ruth doesn’t raise her voice. She leans in and speaks softly. That’s who Ruth is — a kind of calm.
Working in Kenyatta gave her that calm. It gave her the resources she needed to build her life. Ruth paid for the education of her two children, now in their mid-20s, with the money Ruth made in Kenyatta.
And then there’s Ruth’s husband, her source of support for almost 30 years. Unlike many of the women we’ve talked to in the market, Ruth’s husband was not only supportive of her career in the market, he stuck by her side through it all. He helped renovate Ruth’s stall when she struck out on her own in 2009, put money towards their kids’ education, their house.
This romantic stability should be the norm, but it’s not. In fact, Kenyatta offers most women the means and opportunity to escape. The market is held as a sort of refuge for fallen women, but there are others like Ruth — those who did not need the market but still saw it for what it was, a place for opportunity.
This is not to say Ruth’s story did not have ups and downs. During the Covid-19 lockdown, she lost customers. Many, many, customers. But the time at home gave her the chance to start understanding online marketing. How to harness Instagram to find customers who were previously outside her reach. And she considered herself to be lucky. Even if she had to move out of Nairobi, she’d still have her hands, and therefore her skills. The market is one place for her to reach customers, but as time goes on Ruth is excited for platforms like Braiding Nairobi to introduce her business — and her hands — to new people.
“This work of ours is good,” said Ruth, looking around her crowded salon. All six of her employees are hard at work, crouched over customers’ heads. “I like that I can work anywhere.”
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