Meet mother of three who makes clothes for corpses

“This business has provided fees for my three children, it is a sign that the work of my hands is blessed,” says Eunice Ochieng who earns a living stitching burial clothes.

Ochieng is a mother of three; 20-year-old daughter, two sons; 9-year-old and 6-year-old.

In her early 40s ,Ochieng popularly known as Mama Veron, is a tailor who owns 'Seraphine De Fashions' her shop is located in Huruma estate, Nairobi.

She earns her living by making clothes for the dead.

With the support of her family she has shut her ears to critics who she says despise her 'odd' job.

One of her greatest challenge was to overcome the traditional and cultural barriers from her community, which has strong beliefs against works associated with the dead.

Until the mid-1800s, families would wash and dress their deceased loved ones.

The funeral business is steadily booming over the years with fashion playing a key part.

After practicing tailoring back in her village in Oyugis, Ochieng moved to Nairobi in 2015 in search for greener pastures to feed her three children.

She started by selling uniforms and women clothes in Kariobangi market.

“A friend of mine who knew of my tailoring skills got me a job but she didn't disclose the nature of the job. She brought me to Huruma where I was hired to fit in satin cloth in coffins,”she explained to the Star.

Working in a coffin shop gave Ochieng a business idea; dressing the dead. She quit her job and started her own business.

“While under employment, I had seen a high demand for clothes for the dead by grieving families. So I challenged myself to take up the business opportunity," she said.

To get full exposure, the mother of three visited different city morgues to get an idea of the designs and type of clothes the dead are buried in.

She noted that some families preferred special clothes for their loved ones.

It was from this visits that she learnt dead bodies are not dressed in ‘tight’ clothing since putting them on can be a challenge.

“From what I saw at the morgues, the attendants were making them wrappers. That is why I decided to do wrappers as part of the special clothes meant for the dead,” Ochieng added.

With her sewing machine, satin material, threads and a stool, Ochieng began her business.

Huruma estate being a ‘coffin industry’ hub, she works in collaboration with coffin makers who assists in marketing her services to customers who visit their workshops.

For women, Ochieng noticed that families preferred white dresses which are accompanied with accessories.

A white gown includes gloves, veil, socks and at times a crown depending on the family’s preference.

For men, it's a three piece suits, a coat,trouser, waist coat, and additional socks and tie

The dresses range between Sh5000 and Sh10,000 depending on size , design and materials while suits are between Sh8000 to Sh15,000.

Bodies with burnt wounds are usually wrapped four times before being dressed.

According to Ochieng, the first wrapper is made of nylon to avoid pulling of the dead skin , and then what follows are three wraps before dressing the body.

In what appears to be a ‘family business’ Ochieng has her daughter Veron Awino working as her assistant .

After finishing high school in 2019,Veron could not afford to go to college but saw an opportunity to join her mother in the business.

“For now its not easy to get a job so I though instead of staying home and watching tv I should accompany her to work to assist her to make her work easier,” Veron narrated.

Her passion to walk in her mother’s shadow began when she joined her in some of the morgue visits.

At one point, Veron was thinking of learning how to conduct autopsy and handle dead bodies emphasising that its no longer an ‘odd’ job.

“Waiting for the approval of the whole world in everything you do will make you stagnant. Take that risk and evolve like I did, Veron added.