My Hustle; Meet Chebet Mutwol, a teacher reaping big from the art world

Mercy Chebet Mutwol

Story by; John Kipchirchir

When the country and the globe went into  lockdown due to the adverse effects of Covid-19, most people could not comprehend what had actually happened. We were all treated to a new world order with no one quite sure about tomorrow.

Schools were not left behind,  specifically, teachers employed by school management (BOG) suffered the most owing to the sudden loss of steady income occasioned by the government's directives that all schools remain closed indefinitely.

Mercy Chebet Mutwol from Nandi county is one such example. She was employed as an untrained teacher earning between 10,000 and 12000 shillings monthly.

With the turn of events, she had to innovate as she had bills to pay. She turned to art!

To follow the interview;

Click on this link to follow the interview Alfred Koech-Sergent facebook live

"Initially, I did art as a hobby, I never really thought of monetizing it, however, one day I sold a piece to a friend of mine. This is when the idea of doing it for commercial purposes hit my mind." Said Chebet in an interview hosted by Alfred Koech-Sergent live on Facebook.

She says that she has now ventured into interior decoration, wedding decorations, bottle decorations among others.

Here are some of her artworks;

"On a bad week, I earn about Ksh. 10000/= from the sales of my artwork." She said.

She also thanked Alfred Koech-Sergent for giving her a platform to reach out to some potential market. She attributed the increase in sales to a competition started by Alfred to help young individuals showcase their wares and one with the most likes would win a Ksh. 5000/= token and an opportunity to be hosted on the Alfred Koech Live show (A.K.L)

Chebet has registered a company; Chebs creations and is looking to further increase their production capacity and start producing merchandise such as coffee tables and others.

"Soon enough, we will venture into large scale production to meet the growing demands." She said.

Speaking at the same show, Alfred Koech encouraged the young entrepreneur to focus on growing her God gifted talents. He further emphasized on the importance of disciplene in any venture that one turns to.

Mercy Chebet also thanked her mentors and people who've showed up through provision of machines and markets for her products

If you wish to contact her, you can check her on facebook; Chebo Mutwol or through her mobile number 0718764803.

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