Flash of necessity: Mastering the art of getting by

Septuagenarian making a living by carving handles of farming tools for the past 34 years.


Shabbir Mir March 30, 2012

GILGIT:


Entrepreneurship is a quality rarely encouraged in our part of the world as a viable alternative to labour, but for Muhammad Faqir, a retired soldier with meagre means, there was no other option.


His leap of faith proved to be the source of sustenance for his entire family in Gilgit.

After doctors told him his kidneys would collapse if he kept up the strenuous work three decades ago, Faqir, who used to rely solely on manual labour for sustenance, thought his life had virtually ended and his family would be forced to live on alms.

But all was not lost: the very news that threatened his survival led him to stumble upon a profitable business idea.

Faqir, then 37, set up shop in Kashrot and began manufacturing wooden handles for tools like axes, shovels and hoes.

The business exceeded expectations and now at 71, the father of five earns enough to make ends meet and then some.

Locals say the reason Faqir’s business is flourishing is because his tools are more durable than the ones manufactured in factories – an oddity in the industrialised world.

“Everyone knows that his implements are the most durable. We know it because we have been using them for years,” said his neighbour Alif Khan.

Faqir purchases a 40kg-bundle of tree branches for Rs600, which he carves into handles for farming tools.

He sells each tool for around Rs60 to Rs80, making a profit of around Rs200 per bundle. The demand for his tools is enough for him to pay his house and shop rent, besides meeting other expenses.

He said his business is “all-weather”, as people mostly buy his tools to cut wood in winters and in their fields during the summers.

Narrating his story, Faqir said he retired in 1978 after serving in the army as a ranker. He said he was not qualified to work at a desk job and relied mostly on manual labour.

The idea of starting a business to make tools just happened to dawn on me, he reminisced.

Faqir’s success may be considered unimpressive by today’s standards, but speaks volumes for the need of entrepreneurship and maintaining quality to survive in today’s competitive world.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 31st, 2012.

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