Women groups find way to reap cash from cactus
A women’s group in Laikipia has come up with an innovative way to make money from an invasive plant species that has bothered herders in the region for many years.
The Laikipia North sub county-based organisation is working with women groups to make juice, wine and jam to generate income from the invasive cactus plant that herders have tried to eradicate due to their prickly pear nature that kills animals when they feed on them.
“When animals feed on cactus fruits, they block their throat, stomach or intestines hence killing them.
The plant chokes grass hindering it from growing,” Hudson Narerio, an accountant at Laikipia Permaculture Centre told KNA.
Narerio notes that when they went to pick the prickly pear fruits for processing at first, residents that they were encouraging their growth instead of helping to eradicate it condemned them.
“They were opposed to the idea but after paying them to get the fruits they embraced it,” Narerio says, adding that is one of the ways to eradicate the plant. They buy a crate of cactus fruits at Sh500 from residents.
Masai women
Laikipia Permaculture Centre is an organization that started in 2014 and works with Maasai women in Laikipia county in a bid to generate income by using naturally available resources.
The centre started with four women groups and later developed to 15 comprising women, youths and men totalling to 960 people from pastoral communities.
Organisation administrator, Ann Tome says the plant is a menace in the area but they are using it as an opportunity for residents to gain income.
“We are looking into getting an oil pressing machine that will be used to extract oil from cactus seeds that will go to the cosmetic project.
Cactus spread through its fruits and we are using them to make jam, wine and juice,” the administrator notes.
Tome reveals that Italian Aid joined them last year to support the communities around in value addition on agriculture products.
Further says, they underwent one year incubation training through the Laikipia Innovation Programme.
She said they encourage residents to practice permaculture “permanent agriculture,” farming methods aimed at averting value degradation.
Florence Larpsi, food processing manager in the organisation says their aim was to turn the problem into a good solution.
“We also teach our women on leadership and how to do farming rather than relying on livestock only as source of livelihood,” Larpsi says, adding that members’ lives have improved and they can afford to get good nutrition.
Target market
She says their products prices range between Sh250 and Sh150 for 500 grams and 250g of jam, a litre of juice Sh500 and Sh250 for half a litre.
Cactus wine can fetch upto Sh1,000 a litre. Their target markets are residents, supermarkets and individuals.
Tome reveals that plans are underway to build a bigger cactus products processing centre aiming to upscale the production capacity.
She urges Kenyans to use locally available resources for their advantage rather than seeing obstacles in every situation.
She adds that their cactus products are rich in calcium, Vitamin A and C, and also boost blood production in the body.
The Permaculture centre is also working on introducing grapes, which will help them in producing similar products, once they succeed in eradicating the invasive cactus. - KNA
