synergistic relations with other small business that become part and parcel of the waste economy. Food vendors, kiosk owners, repairers, and beverage sellers tend to surround workshops. The workshops become economic vibrant spots that connect to local, national, and global economies.
scrap collectors. This part is occupied by the master crafters George, Mwanawane, Charles, and Mjomba Mjomba. Their occupation of this strategic position in the workshop reveals their position in its power strata. In the afternoons, when scrap collectors return from their trips, crafters gather in the front to salvage materials that have been collected. When scrap collectors return, everybody comes to the front of the workshop. Those in the front get to inspect the scraps before those inside. They are also the first to meet customers, negotiate prices, take orders, and estimate products’ delivery time.
The younger Samwel, who had just finished primary school and was without any prospects for continued studies, had joined his grandfather, his uncle Mwanawane, and his father Charles to become the third generation of crafters in his family. Samwel and his grandfather occupy the southern corner inside the workshop near the television. Charles and Mwanawane make deals with customers, sketch plans for stoves depending on customers’
needs, and then send these to Samwel and his grandfather to make the parts. Because Samwel is new to the job, he has been placed at the swarf, the handmade sheet metal bending machine.
The swarf turns the edge of the sheets, so they don’t cause injuries while using the cookstoves.
I introduced the cookstoves in the introduction and will explain more about them in detail in Chapter 5. Once the pieces are ready, they are sent back to the front, where Charles and Mwanawane assemble them into cookstoves. Charles mixes clay soil with cement and water during the final making stage, paints the cookstove’s interior walls with the mixture, and attaches the ready-made clay pot. After this, the cookstoves are painted black and placed out back of the workshop to dry in the sun. This exact process is also repeated by George, his stepbrother Juma, and his five apprentices.
The further back you go inside the workshop, the lower the workers’ positionality on the hierarchy. Dullah, an early member of the workshop, had returned after a two-year employment stint in the city and has a station next to Samwel and his grandfather. I was told
that a conflict had led Dullah to leave the workshop, which came from an accusation Dullah had made against George. George was the workshop chair at the time, and Dullah accused George of treating his apprentices unfairly, leading to Dullah`s departure. He found a job as a technician at a company that makes aluminium frames for windows and doors. However, the lack of flexibility that he used to have at the workshop, the loss of ability to take on extra jobs or take breaks when he wanted, and a lack of companionship forced his return. However, when he returned, he had lost his former position at the front of the workshop. He now had to occupy the inside and recruit new apprentices. He found four new apprentices, who work behind the workshop under a shaded workstation along with George’s apprentices.
Ramadhani, another master crafter, has a station in the middle of the workshop where he works together with his two apprentices. Ramadhani is the newest master crafter. Though he could get a spot in the front, he prefers working inside the workshop. Having apprentices allows master crafters to engage in more ventures. George does business with restaurants, making stoves that use gas, which allows him to work flexibly outside the workshop. After instructing an apprentice in what to do, he can go around the city to repair and fix stoves while things run smoothly back at the workshop.
The master crafters and their apprentices form different strata of labour relations. The apprentices, usually young, come to learn the art of crafting with different aspirations. Calvin, who lives with his mother just a few streets away, wants to stay and work at the workshop. The younger Samwel wants to learn the craft and, at some point, move somewhere to start his own place.
The apprentices have unwritten contract with the master crafters; however, while unwritten, these contracts are well respected. Apprentices are expected to show up at work when there is a job to do. However, when there is no work, they are not required to be there.
The master crafters compensate the apprentices for their labour. They are paid according to
their participation in a project. If the master crafter has received a large order for stoves, he may assign his apprentices to work on different parts of the stoves. However, when there are several small orders, the master crafter might assign each apprentice to work on one order from beginning to end.
Compensation for each apprentice depends on the type and number of stoves to be produced. For example, the cost of producing a big charcoal BBQ stove for a restaurant is 80,000 TZS (35USD). This cost includes aluminium boards, metal coils, welding, and paint.
George sells these stoves for 100,000TZS (43USD). The marginal profit is 20,000 TZS (9USD). The apprentice will receive a cut of up to 5,000 TZS (2USD). The price changes depending on the number of stoves a customer orders. For orders that exceed five stoves, the price is reduced by 5,000 TZS (2USD). If apprentices work together, meaning producing the same stove in a team, each one who participate share a cut of 5,000 TZS (2USD) per stove.
Figure 22 Dullah and his apprentices
Remuneration for each apprentice’s labour is based on their contribution to the making process. Unlike in wage labour, where compensation is based on the time that one spends in production, here it is the labour itself that is remunerated. Paying for labour rather than the time spent in production reduces the supervision that the master crafter must give to his apprentice.
The more one works, the better the pay. For example, Calvin and Dinho do all sorts of things, from collecting on the streets, doing some crafting assignments for the master crafters, and sometimes helping scrap dealers load scraps onto trucks or with dismantling and mining metals.
They get paid per task.
The three scrap dealers’ warehouses are also located in the front of the workshop. Mkali and John’s warehouse is on the right side of the workshop. On the left side of the front of the workshop, Babu Ali’s warehouse is located close to the entrance. During my first fieldwork visit, Babu Ali came only a few times a week because he had other business. However, he was at the workshop every day during my second visit at the end of 2021. I never learnt what other business he was doing, but I was told at the latter moment that the other venture was not doing well, which was why he was at the workshop more frequently.
At its far end, the workshop borders the Dada Ligu grocery and a warehouse for two dealers who are a couple. Although I managed to be accepted by everybody at the workshop, this couple was sceptical about why a student from Europe would collect scraps. I had few interactions with them, which means I did not get to know much about their business. The warehouses are on the front of the workshop because there is enough space by the road to accommodate collectors and their trolleys, weight machines, and because it provides easy access for trucks to load.