Making A Business Out Of Fish Waste

When you think of fish waste you cringe, you do not think of high-end fashion.  Newton Owino from Nyanza, Kenya is making a thriving, fashionable business out of the waste from fish.

Newton Owino owns the Alisam Product Development and Design Tannery Centre in Mamboleo Estate in Kisumu.  Owino designs and makes bags, jackets, wallets, caps, purses, watch handles, binders, utensils, shoes and belts from the fish skin, scales and innards of Nile perch and catfish.  He exports his products as far as America.

Approximately 20 tons of waste are produced daily by the fish processing plants around Kisumu, which provides Owino with a steady supply of affordable raw materials.

Catfish being skinned

Owino specialized in leather chemistry when studying at G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology (Pantnagar) in India in the late 90s.  The entrepreneur got a chance to work at the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE) for 11 years before resigning in 2006.

Owino started his business with a capital of Kshs 100,000 ($1100). “When I started this business, I could only process 200kg of fish in a week. Now I tan almost 15 tons and export the products to Denmark, Italy and U.S among other countries,” Owino says.

Jimmy Choo shoes made from fish skin

Owino’s business has changed the lives of fishermen in the lakeside town.  Twenty of them assist in collecting and transporting the raw materials and seven of them are fully employed in the tannery.

The whole process is done manually; it is also safe and doesn’t endanger the environment. The skin and other waste material is soaked in clean water before the addition of salt for preservation. After scaling the fish skin, the tanning process begins.  Tanning converts the skin into leather, which is then refined by smoothening with charcoal iron box.  The skin is then soaked for up to one hour then removed from the water, before banana extract is added to remove the fish odour and to strengthen the fiber.  Salt is added again to kill bacterial infection.  Again the skin is soaked for eight hours, and baking powder is added to remove salt and any bacterial residue that could have remained.  The skin is dried under the shade for two to three hours for curing.

Fish leather being dried in the tannery

Owino exports “wet blue stage” or semi finished leather on a monthly basis through the Export Promotion Council.  He exports a ton of it to Ethiopia every month.  A piece of fish leather is Kshs 750 and one ton contains 400 to 600 pieces.  His business is lucrative. His many achievements include a leather project with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda.  He has also done academic presentations on fish leather in various countries that include Italy, Denmark and California.

The business faces many challenges however, including a shortage of fish skin due to the dwindling number of Nile perch in Lake Victoria, caused by illegal fishing.  Owino counters the shortage by outsourcing fish skin from Tanzania and Uganda.

Newton Owino’s future aspirations include launching a shoe manufacturing company “to save parents from the agony of buying shoe polish”.  Shoes made from fish leather are waterproof and do not require polishing.  These shoes cost between Kshs 1,000 to 1,200.