Metalworking is a talent that has always intrigued me. The ability to take metal in solid or sheet form and, by hammering, forging, heating, cutting, welding and riveting, to create objects both useful and beautiful is something special to watch unfold. I’m reminded of the tours of Rose Ornamental Iron Works in Cleveland where German craftsman carried on the tradition of decorative wrought iron. For a craftsman the most important ingredients are a creative imagination, a developed talent, and a ready supply of raw materials… Imagine Michelangelo with no access to marble.

Rwandan craftsmen are no different. In the Butare there are no distributors of sheet metal or bar stock but new construction in the housing industry supplies metal roofing scraps. The world is awash in 55 gallon drums that have outlived their usefulness. Broken leaf springs from trucks supply

bar stock. So working backward, we now have the ready supply of raw material—now what needed is the talented group of craftsmen. As I explained in an earlier post, all you need in the beginning is one really talented craftsperson, who can train any willing worker in the steps it takes to make the final product. Some workers will master one facet, and be happy doing that the rest of their life. Others will progress through all the steps and eventually be the talented craftsperson who can train new generations. This shop is run by a businessman, who knows his market well. The couple of times that I have visited, it seems that he has three major products. The first is a range of brightly painted metal boxes. They range in size from that of a small carry-on suitcase to a full-size steamer trunk. The most popular colors seem to be red and blue. The second product is a large wok-like cooking vessel forged out of the bottom of those 55 gallon drums. (I include a photograph of myself making one of these woks, proving that anyone can be taught one step in the production line. Note the finished blue boxes in the back-ground.) The third is a welded carrying rack for bicycles. So in this case, the creative imagination comes from the businessman who sees products that are needed, designs them around his limited availability of raw materials, and uses bright colors to distinguish them in the marketplace. This is the beginning of a real industry. What is needed now is national distribution of a product that the shop manufactures.

Flattening sheet metal roofing

Forging bar stock

Blower to heat truck spring

Workers and Resellers

Making handles for wok

Brooklyn calling new hire