Over the last decade, several bookshops and reading spaces – both physical and online – have opened up to cater to the growing reading culture in Kenya. Cheche Books founder, Ubax Abdi speaks with Paukwa’s Chief Story-smith, mwihaki Muraguri, about starting a Pan-African bookshop.
mwihaki: Cheche is a Pan-African bookshop. That is very specific. Could you tell us why you chose that theme for your bookshop and your journey to deciding on it?
Ubax: I think it started just by generally not finding African and diaspora writers here on the continent affordably. You can get the best sellers here for sure but anything that doesn’t fit a certain category or capitalistic narrative was hard to find in existing bookshops. I wanted to create a one stop shop for Pan African literature, which is still a work in progress.
mwihaki: A lot of solutions come from pain points. Is Pan African literature a category of literary work that you have always loved and were frustrated at not finding?
Ubax: Yes, I think for me like a lot of people growing up in a school system where literature is Eurocentric, I discovered these writers late in life, through friends or on my own. Another big reason for the creation of Cheche was a place for people to discover or rediscover these books and read together, a form of popular education.
mwihaki: When was Cheche opened and how have you built a community of afro-story book lovers? Has it been difficult?
Ubax: Cheche was created in 2019, opening at the beginning of 2020 right before the pandemic! We have grown through word of mouth and social media. There is a vibrant Kenyan book community online. We were unsure of our location, a bit hidden and not easily accessible by public transport but the space has been integral to people coming, not just for books. Before the second lockdown we had regular art, music and film events that brought newcomers as well as regulars and we hope to start that up again soon.
mwihaki: I’m curious – the dream probably started way before the official opening. When did that start and what are some of your lessons from diving into the world of shops/sellers and publishers? Did you have previous experience in the field?
Ubax: A bookshop that is also a multipurpose event space, where you’re free to browse and have a cup of coffee was something I thought about quite a bit and was sure someone else would eventually create it. I had experience in retail but worlds away from books or publishing. Speaking to people in the bookselling industry, I was discouraged from pursuing it; it’s not easy, there’s no money, Kenyans don’t read, is all I kept hearing. There is a reason the Nairobi bookshops around today have been there for decades. I think a passion for books and art for radical thought as opposed to just thinking about the bottom line has been a strength. The place was not opened as a business idea to be scaled up, we like our size as it allows us to stay independent and close to our customers, but of course it is a business. Not seeing the space utilized as it was intended, full of people, a social and cultural hub with a cafe, has been disheartening but we’re adapting by, for example, renting out the space for private events. The uncertainty of the pandemic has resolved us to make Cheche sustainable in the long run by finding meaningful partnerships that don’t take away from our ethos and independence.
mwihaki: Indeed, it’s been a year of accepting the value of pivoting. What should people who hope to share stories and books be aware of if they would like to connect with or partner with Cheche?
Ubax: I think the best way is to come to the space and interact with us and the environment. We are very open to collaboration, and I think when one comes to Cheche it’s quite obvious to see what we’re about and whether it’ll be a good fit. We love hosting book club meetings. We’ve had self-published writers bring their work and we now sell them. We want as much local work in the space as possible.
mwihaki: Great to know! Lastly – what are your favourite books, the ones that made you hunger for a space like Cheche and of course what does the word Cheche mean?
Ubax: White Teeth by Zadie Smith for getting me to read fiction and for writing a place that I could identify. No Sweetness Here, a short story collection by the great Ghanaian writer Ama Ataa Aidoo. And I’ve just finished Nanjala Nyabola’s book of essays Travelling While Black, which is great.
Cheche means spark in Kiswahili. It is named in homage to the Tanzanian radical student newspaper published in the 70s as well as the underground pamphlet published in Kenya during the Moi regime.
Connect with Ubax and the Cheche team online