By Lanji Ouko
A lead bullet unexpectedly pierced the air! The overly enthusiastic villagers perched loosely on the edge of the wooden plunk, with their thighs barely touching the plunk improvised as a bench. The plasma television blaring and glaring as the young boys sat quietly staring at images of an action packed film.
The racket is a usual day-to-day occurrence at Pacho Cinemas from 6pm onwards. The cinema is located right at the heart of the small village known as Usenge, in Bondo constituency, Siaya County.
“Rambo! Rambo! Rambo!” the young boys jump and chant as the protagonist sprays a series of bullets across the screen. Rambo is a film starring Sylvester Stallone, about a troubled Vietnam War veteran and former U.S. Army Special Forces soldier who is skilled in guerrilla warfare.
Charles Ogaya, 47,the owner of Pacho Cinema repeatedly chuckles as he lists the importance of screening action films. Contrary to the initial assumption, on seeing small boys filling the cinema, they do have an age and height restriction policy.
The elaborately set cinema constitutes screen one and two. Screen one is an indoor cinema, fitted with a plasma television and wooden benches. Screen two is an open-air projector cinema, fitted with surround system and powered by a generator with an audience of men and women comfortably sitting on plastic chairs, covered in vitenges. The sole proprietor explains the vitenges are known as {Koyo Bonus}, which basically means “cold bonus “ at the cinema and are used during extremely windy evenings.
Right beside screen two, is a kitchen area where the cinemagoers can enjoy some tasty meals while relaxing to sounds from the village’s emerging local musicians who perform every weekend. On the left is a dimly lit discotheque, where revellers proceed after watching movies. The bar is stocked with all manners of beverages, from frosty beers to wines and whiskeys and of course, a great choice of non-alcoholic preferences.
Usenge Beach is a village on the shores of Lake Victoria, with high temperatures, which explains why Charles diversified his cinema to the open-air section.
Charles began the dream of the cinema with the initial capital of Sh30, 000 with which he bought a second hand Sony television and a DVD player. The screen, he says, was rather small and not conducive for a huge audience. Determined to fulfil his dream of establishing the first cinema in the village, he took a loan of Sh250, 000 from a bank in Bondo and gradually began to set up Pacho Cinemas. The businessman describes the cinema as more than a social amenity, and refers to it as an experience.
“All under one roof! A restaurant, cinema and discotheque catering to one niche market is impossible to find around here. It took rather long for electricity to be connected, and therefore very few can afford television or afford to catch up and be my competition,” he says.
He works closely with the local council to provide key foundation services in order to create a functional community. Additionally, Charles employs young boys in the cinema to deter them from getting involved in crime.
Indeed it is not your typical outdoor cinema site. Located in a picturesque side of the village, the cinema offers a unique take to the outdoor cinema experience – surrounded by the very best that Mother Nature can offer.
Each section of the cinema comfortably accommodates up to 50 customers. On a good day the cinema has up to approximately 200 hundred customers. During school holidays, they make a killing as they have three different screening hours, which translates to six different shows as opposed to the usual two screenings, during the day and at night.
A ticket goes for Sh100 and provides access to the rest of the amenities at Pacho cinemas. Charles happily admits he has no regrets establishing the cinema. Most of his revenue however comes from the discotheque and the sale of alcoholic beverages.
One of the challenges he faced initially upon venturing into this business was the alcoholic licensing during daytime movies, however, he gradually managed to fulfil all the requirements by the relevant authorities. Additionally, he had issues with parents concerned about age limits and obscene material but he later introduced the age restrictions policy. In the next few years, he hopes to expand his business to Homa Bay where he says he has a ready market.
A small village with no electricity, very few TV sets and lack of constructive pass time activities, Charles saw a niche and decided to dive in. A few years later, electricity has been introduced to the small village but Pacho Cinemas continues to be a monopoly in Usenge.
“Necessity is the mother of all invention. Other than the business side of this, I believe it has helped the young men acquire employment and cultivate better pass time activities to curb the rate of crime in the village. We should always look at our businesses and ask, how will it benefit my community?” he says.
