TEACHER TURNED BRICK MAKER NOW EARNS KSH.90,000 PER MONTH
TEACHER TURNED BRICK MAKER NOW EARNS KSH.90,000 PER MONTH.
Francis Tonui planned to create his dream home in 2014. When he went to a contractor to find out how much it would cost, he was surprised to be handed a Sh.16 million Bill of Quantities.
Tonui, depressed, saw his dream of buying the house of his dreams slipping through his fingers.
As the Maso Secondary School principal pondered how he could save the enormous expense of creating a magnificent eight-bedroom house, he happened upon a construction site where interlocking blocks were being employed.
“When I asked the contractor about the materials used to make the interlocking blocks, I discovered that, aside from cement, the other raw materials needed were available on my farm in Soin ward.” “It made me realize that I could make the interlocking blocks myself,” adds Tonui.
“That’s how I built my spacious eight-bedroom house for Sh10 million, which is Sh6 million less than if I had used conventional building blocks.”
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He claims that interlocking bricks save construction costs by about 15% because they have “zero joints.”
“On the joints, no cement is used.” “The interlocking blocks interlock themselves due to the’male and female’ sides that fit perfectly into each other,” explained Tonui.
Tonui decided to go into building interlocking blocks after finishing the house and being pleased with the results.
“I decided to abandon the idea of selling certified raw material from my five-acre farm in Kapkormom village to a road construction company working on the Brooke-Ainamoi-Thessalia road,” Tonui explained.
He started a commercial interlocking block business by employing professionals and using a Hydraform machine provided by the Nyamira Ministry of Housing and Public Works office as part of the government’s affordable housing scheme.
“However, after experiencing delays and bureaucracies in hiring Hydraform machines from Kericho, Bomet, Narok, and other counties, I decided to raise Sh.4 million and import my own machine from South Africa,” Tonui explains.
To manufacture the interlocking bricks, the businessman combines cement and a sand and murram mixture in the proportion of one bag of cement to 16 wheelbarrows of sand and murram. “This must be the rate,” Tonui says.
The businessman manufactures 1,000 to 1,200 blocks every day. The task necessitates the participation of ten persons.
TEACHER TURNED BRICK MAKER NOW EARNS KSH.90,000 PER MONTH
“One worker operates the Hydraform machine, while the others are involved in mixing the raw materials and transporting the blocks to the curing area,” Tonui explains.
The building blocks must be piled in the curing area and kept wet by sprinkling water twice a day. They must be covered with a polythene sheet.
The bricks must be cured for at least 21 days.
When the operation is finished, the businessman sells the interlocking blocks on the spot for Sh.30 per piece.
“I can sell up to 10,000 interlocking blocks in a month.” “I make about Sh.90,000 from this,” said Tonui.
Tonui claims that a house or other building made of interlocking blocks is stronger than any other.
“The lifespan exceeds 100 years.” Even a tractor cannot break through the wall due to the weight of the interlocking brick. This brick is approximately eight kilograms…. He compares interlocking blocks to “three bricks joined together.”
A good interlocking block can be distinguished from the rest if it is not crushed when pressed down.
“An interlocking block with the proper ratio of cement and other raw materials cannot crack,” he explains.
