Every Monday morning, Denis Kioko dresses in his suit and heads to a bank, where he works as a sales representative, ready to start another week. He maintains this routine until Friday.

“Working in the bank has improved my financial literacy and wealth creation mindset,” he explains.

“I studied Actuarial Science at Garissa University, graduating in June 2024, and it has always been my dream to work here.”

Come Friday evening, the 23-year old swaps his sharp suit for casual wear and heads out to his quarter-acre farm in Kyaani village in Makueni County.

At this family land, he has put up vegetable beds with sukuma wiki, spinach, coriander, okra, peppers, and even sugarcane.

“I’m the eldest of four boys,” says Denis. “Farming has been part of my life since childhood. It paid my school fees and met my needs, and it still supports my family today.”

He sells the farm's produce, and has been helping in covering household expenses and keeps his younger brother in school.

“As actuaries, we’re trained to solve problems,” he says. “This mindset helps me to innovate solutions to food shortages and water scarcity.”

His grandfather was a reputable farmer in Masongaleni ward and passed on invaluable farming skills and blessings, while his mother instilled resilience in him.

“She used to say, ‘As long as I live, you will never go hungry.’ We never went hungry, and that motivates me to ensure that others don't either,” he says.

He acknowledges that commuting to the farm has been a challenge, as he cannot respond quickly when need arises. Such is his predicament when there is a pest outbreak, a sick plant, or a drainage problem. But his grandfather acts as both caretaker and eyes on the ground. “He built that farm before I was born. He knows it better than I do,” he says.

Makueni is located in one of Kenya's dry regions, where unpredictable rainfall can destroy a whole plantation. To combat this, he invested in water storage tanks to harvest rainwater and designed his vegetable beds to retain moisture for as long as possible between watering.

Denis sees the farm as a safety net.

“If my job in Nairobi does not work out, I already have the experience, and setting up a demonstration farm will be straightforward. I want more young people to learn about farming,” he says and adds, “The goal is to build an agricultural company, eventually export produce internationally, and spend whatever time is left teaching the people around me that farming, done properly, is one of the most reliable paths to a good life.”

Denis represents one of the many city professionals with a main job during the week and something else entirely running in the background.

“One job is simply not enough”

During the week, Timark Nzioka runs a security systems business on Luthuli Avenue and Mfangano Street, Nairobi. He has eight people on his payroll, so sitting idle is really never an option.

But instead of catching a snooze on Saturday after a hectic week, the 31-year-old makes the drive out to Kakuyuni in Machakos County, where he has ventured into chicken and rabbit keeping.

On his family land, he has dedicated half an acre to 400 chickens and 100 rabbits, a venture that acts as his second source of income.

“For those of us in technical fields, weekdays are extremely busy. When you finally get a day off, idleness can feel overwhelming. The farm keeps me busy on weekends. I hardly notice when the weekend ends.”

Getting to this point was never a walk in the park. In early 2015, Timark lost his job at a company in Nairobi’s Industrial Area, and rather than spend months sending out applications, he decided to go back to what he already knew. He had been working hands-on with security systems long before he got a title for it. So, launching his own business felt like a logical next step.

His business thrived.

Then the 2020 lockdown happened, and normal life came to a halt. Timark found that enforced idleness was its own kind of misery.

“For those of us used to being on the go, doing nothing doesn’t feel like rest. It just feels like wasted time,” he explains. “The farm fixed that. I go out there on weekends, and by the time I look up, the weekend is already over.”

He earns around Sh60,000 a month from the venture. A kilo of rabbit sells for around Sh800, and the chickens produce eggs and meat that meaningfully reduce what he spends on groceries each month.

“One job is simply not enough anymore. School fees, food, rent. It all adds up faster than a single salary can keep up with. You have to find something else to stand on.”

But when Timark talks about the farm, the money is rarely the first thing he mentions. What he keeps coming back to is the quietness of it, the way it slows him down, gives him room to think, and lets his children run around among the animals in a way city life never could.

It has also helped him build resilience. There was a time a bad-quality feed cost him around 100 birds and nearly Sh100,000 in losses. The experience forced him to completely rethink his oversight approach. He now monitors the farm remotely through cameras mounted on the property to protect his own investment, the same security technology he deploys for his business clients.

Just like Dennis, his longer plan is to leave Nairobi entirely by the time he turns 45.

Stitching a better future

During the week, Jennifer Achieng is the human resources officer at a logistics company in Nairobi. It is work she is genuinely good at and enjoys.

“HR is really about people,” she says. “Learning how to listen to them properly, guiding them through difficulties, and making sure both the individual and the organisation come out better for it.”

Come Friday evening, the 39-year-old joins the stream of people heading out of Nairobi, arrives in Ugunja, Siaya County, about 400 kilometres away, at dawn on Saturday. Reason for the trip? To check out how her tailoring shop,

JenTailor Designs, is fairing. The shop is managed by her sister during the week. Jennifer spends the weekend reviewing the week’s sales figures, sitting with her team, giving out wages, and sorting out whatever needs sorting. Then she drives back to Nairobi on Sunday evening.

She did not start the shop as a hobby or just a backup plan. In 2022, with the country still navigating the aftermath of the pandemic, several people close to her lost their jobs. Jennifer wanted to create work for young women in her home community rather than just offer sympathy.

“Tailoring is one of those jobs that never really goes out of demand. Weddings happen every year. Schools need uniforms every term. Churches have their gatherings. There’s always a reason for someone to need clothes made well.”

What began with two sewing machines and a single tailor has since grown into a small but steady operation with four full-time workers and a designer.

During peak seasons, it brings in around Sh700,000 a month, money that pays her employees and helps with her mother’s medical costs.

Staff management from a distance has been a learning curve for Jennifer. She has had to invest time in training her team not just to sew but to solve problems independently.

“You can’t micromanage from Nairobi,” she says. “You have to trust the people you’ve put in place, and build them up so that trust is actually warranted.”

One thing keeps her going whenever she feels like giving up. Her mother, a retired teacher, planted an idea in her head long ago: “Don’t wait until you retire to build something back home.” That advice is slowly growing into a vision.

She also plans to return to Siaya permanently and turn JenTailor Designs into a proper training centre where women can come to learn, earn a certificate, and leave with something more lasting than a job.

→ lowoko@ke.nationmedia.com

Follow our WhatsApp channel for the latest business and markets updates.