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Rising again . . . It is now back to business at Glen View Home Industry Complex in Harare as workmen resume their trade after the compound was razed to the ground by a fire last week

Christopher Farai Charamba Features Writer
A fortnight ago, the Glen View home industry complex, which is famous for making household furniture, was razed by a fire whose cause remains a mystery to this date.

Hundreds of thousands of dollars were lost in that inferno that occurred on the wee hours of July 29.

No life was lost, fortunately, but livelihoods were lost to some, while some resilient souls are struggling to get back on their feet.

Curiously, in recent times this is not the first incident to wreck the complex.

In September 2011 and in September 2012 fire broke out at the compound, with similar destructive ferocity.

But then, as in now, the people whose livelihoods are tied to the complex always find their ways to rise again.

The Herald visited the ground zero of the complex this past week.

Although some of the carpenters and furniture makers have returned to work among the ashes and what remains of the buildings, their lives are not the same.

Despite showing resilience most of the people lost property worth thousands including tools and have nothing with which to start their businesses again.

As the dust settles and the ash cools, sense of dejection rather than hope fills the air with many of the people wondering how they will be able to recover from the fire and earn an honest living in the days and weeks to come.

Jay Chabata is a carpenter who makes cupboards and tables for a living. The fire that gutted Glen View left him barely on his feet.

“I don’t know whether to call it bad luck or some sort of curse but that fire was devastating. We are all trying to get back on our feet but most of us lost everything,

“Everything I had is gone. I lost about $2 700 worth of property in that fire. Were it not for the $400 I had put aside you would not see me here today. That little bit of money is what has helped me to start working again but it is not enough and I don’t know if I will make it past the month,” he said.

Many of the carpenters have started to erect temporary shelters made from wood right where the fire had taken out the buildings in order for them to start working again.

According to Mr Chabata, “people are starting afresh but many have had to sell whatever assets they had in order to raise some capital to buy material. This is the most difficult time for all of us but we hope we can make it through.”

Takemore Marungire and Brighton Chihoto used to run a workshop making sofas together and lost everything in the fire. Now they move around what is left of the home industry complex looking for donations of material or tools.

“We are trying by all means to start our business again. Together we lost over $4 000 worth of property and so right now we have absolutely nothing with which to start so today we came to see if anyone can help us with some material or even tools.

“Some people were lucky in that they managed to remove some of their things and that is why they are back to work already. Most of us just come here every day because that is what we are used to but there is nothing for us to do. Some men just come and sit all day,” Mr Marungire said.

Some of the carpenters and welders have been fortunate enough to receive help from family and well-wishers thus giving them a lifeline to continue earning a living.

“I am able to be here today because my family was kind enough to donate some money to me. There are also other people to whom I sell my tables who have given me an advance and so I can buy materials to start again,” said Mrs Tsuro, a carpenter.

“The situation we find ourselves in is a difficult one. Most people here are broken down because this was all they had. Some of us are struggling to pay this month’s rent because all the money we have we are trying to reinvest in the business.”

Wesley Dzitiro bemoaned the fact that there was no longer space to keep their materials, products or tools.

“All that you can see around you is ash and dirt. This is where we are forced to work now. Apparently we are supposed to wait until the Government or council builds us new structures but that might take forever and we have to eat today.

“There is no place to store our things anymore and we are scared that they will get stolen. We just keep them outside but I don’t know how safe it is to continue to do this. However, we have no other options.

“Another problem we are facing is that our customers are being told that the place burnt down and so no one is coming to buy from us. People must stop telling these lies because now is the time we need help the most and so people must come and buy from us, we are still here,” he said.

The conditions at the Glen View Home Industry Complex are not ideal but there is great resilience being shown by those that work there.

“I lost an industrial sewing machine, tools and all my material in that fire,” explains Conwell Murape.

“I managed to come back to work today because someone was kind enough to donate a sewing machine to me.

“No one here has recovered but we are just trying to help each other. I sew covers for many of the carpenters here and so because we need each other’s business we are just trying to make sure we all make it.

“It has been very difficult especially because we have no shelter and nowhere to store our possessions. I walk 8km to and from home everyday carrying everything I own including the sewing machine because if I leave it here it will get stolen,” he said.

No insurance

But the miracle of burning and rising like the proverbial phoenix is not enough for the workers at the complex.

Unfortunate for most of the people at the Glen View Home Industry Complex none of them had their property insured and when it went up in flames so did their livelihood.

“Perhaps we should have had our goods insured but I for one know very little about that and how to go about it. We need help with most of these things because we are not very knowledgeable on such issues.

“Our current hope is that going forward we are able to get assistance from well-wishers and the Government so that we can get back on our feet. We also need people to come and buy our goods to get this place operating again,” said Nhamo Murerirwa.

Insurance companies such as NicozDiamond and Allied Insurance offer insurance policies that protect business against damage to property caused by fires.

The Business Protection Insurance offered by NicozDiamond, for example, is “suitable for small to medium-sized businesses for cover against the risks of fire and allied perils, burglary and

theft, money in transit or at premises, accidental damage to machinery and plant and general liabilities,” according to their website.

With signs of life emerging from the ash and rubble at the Glen View 8 Home Industry Complex it is certainly wise and advisable for the small to medium business owners there to seek out insurance so that their businesses and properties are protected if such a calamity were to strike again.

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