Akala sandals have started to gain traction and popularity among Thika Town youths which has led to business-minded entrepreneurs to venture into the akala making business.
Joseph Kioko, is one such businessman who has pitched tent along General Kago Road where you will find him surrounded with several used rubber tyres.
Kioko's choice for the location, he says, is because his main targets are the students studying at the nearby Thika Technical Training Institute as well as Mount Kenya University.
"The students are my main customers because they buy a lot and I cannot complain. But you have to design the akalas according to how they want. Young people generally like stylish things," said Kioko.
When we met him on Thursday early morning, Kioko had already started to work on his akalas which he says have sustained him for the last ten years.
"I have to open early because some of the akalas am working on are already ordered," he said.
Kioko says that since year 2013 the akalas demand in the area has been on the rise, something he attributes to changing fashion trends among the youths.
He, however, warns that it is not all rosy to do the business as it is handcraft and manual which requires a lot of hard work.
"To extract the material from the rubber tyres to make the akalas is the major hurdle. It is not work I can recommend to lazy bones," he said.