There are many jobs in the universe, but there are just a handful of jobs where a smile would mean the exact opposite of customer care. From Monday to Sunday it is a different story at the carpentry shop in Gakingiro Gisozi as people turn up to buy coffins for their departed loved ones.

Unlike other businesses, even the relatives of the coffin seller don’t expect a grinning welcome during their moment of grief but a coffin seller is a carpenter by profession who has to earn from his trade.

Receiving clients

When the Sunday Times visited, Shaban Gasarabwe, a carpenter who has spent over 10 years in the business explains that there is nothing like a peak season and every day is the same, stressing that the biggest challenge is reception of clients.

Gasarabwe adds that consolation of clients is always the first step before reaching out to the price lists.

"People come grieving, you have to grieve along but do not speak a lot because the more you do so, you aggravate the situation,” Gasarabwe explains while reaching out to show us the different sizes of the caskets.

Just like any business, his workshop has items graded according to quality and size but both the rich and the poor are accommodated.

The cheapest casket costs Rwf 12,000 while the most expensive goes for Rwf 100,000.

The difference in the products can be spotted from the finishing touches of the crafts man whereby cheap coffins usually miss out on wood vanish.

Unlike other businesses, coffin making is one area where the manufacturer has to be strong hearted and no wonder many people continue to shun businesses of this nature.

"People don’t want to engage in this kind of business because they feel it draws them to think about death a lot,” Gasarabwe says.

Surprisingly while most people pray to have their businesses prosper, the coffin maker only has to wait patiently for clients and that is why most times it is not the sole business for the carpenter’s survival.

At this workshop in Gisozi, making coffins takes the same procedure of sorting the wood, treating it and fining it but what is odd about the workshop, it is hidden far away from the road side and was quite hard for us to see before we asked for directions.

No need for public display

Adolf, a carpenter in the same business says that however much he may want customers to buy; these are not the usual items you are supposed to display by the road side.

"Customers will get to know that where there is a wood workshop there is usually some place where coffins are made,” Adolf says adding that as long as a person can make a living, there is wrong being a coffin maker.

Coffin dealers are also organised under associations like Dutabarame Cerceille Ltd, an institution that can provide them with small loans.

Comparing costs from other manufactures

When the Sunday Times reached out to Moriki Funeral Services, one of the leading end-of-life service providers in town, there were many different types of coffins, with prices differing according to the quality, however their lowest-priced coffin goes for Rwf 70,000.

"We also have hearses for transporting the body to the cemetery,” said an employee from the funeral home, who asked not to be named. "For distances that are not far from town, hiring the hearse alone costs about Rwf 90,000.”

In this case both the coffin and the hearse will cost you Rwf 160,000 a price that does not include the cost of the wreaths.

Kalanguka Peterson (names changed), a florist in Giporoso, explains that a basic wreath goes for about Rwf,000, while an ‘executive’ one will cost about Rwf 30,000. The small bouquets, which he says many of the mourners carry, go for about Rwf 1500.

"Of course we are not malicious. We cannot be happy when we get a customer because they are mourning the loss of a loved one; but I will not deny that we recognise that it is good for business. And this is what puts food on the table.”

Finally if a resting site is in Rusororo, a burial spot that will cost you a minimum of Rwf 100,000, usually more- assuming you aren’t ‘needy’, in which case you would pay Rwf 15,000.

Government working on a cremation policy

However because of the growing shortage of land in the country, government is working on a policy to ensure that people can opt for cremation.

People in the coffin business are worried saying that their sales may go down but also express concern that the costs at the burial sites are currently high and cannot be afforded by many people

"If the law is enacted, we shall comply but the biggest problem right now is the cost of burying at the site because most individuals cannot afford it,” Gasarabwe adds.

Although it is extremely difficult to get people to change their burial practices, which are rooted in tradition and religion, statistics from various African countries compiled by the Cremation Society of Great Britain, reveal that only 3 to 7 percent of the dead are cremated. In most parts of Africa, traditional beliefs include burial ceremonies but cremation is very common in Asia.