Gatundu farmers reap from bananas

The infiltration of brokers had for years disadvantaged a group of women farmers in Gatundu North, Kiambu County. In 2012, they decided to come together and find a lasting solution to the brokers, who reaped where they did not sow.

The outcome of the meeting culminated in the formation of a community-based organisation called Gatundu North United Women Initiative.

After taking control of the marketing of their farm produce, the women, who farmed bananas, yams and sweet potatoes engaged in chain value addition and began to produce flour from the crops.

They perfected the art of making nutritious flour from a mix of bananas, cassavas, strawberry leaves and sweet potatoes, selling a kilogramme at Sh200.

Group coordinator Ms Irene Nyambura says they brought in expertise from members enabling them to get more innovative.

"The flour, made from bananas is nutritious which helps our bodies fight opportunistic and lifestyle diseases,” says Ms Nyambura.

“We source raw bananas, cassava, strawberry and sweet potatoes from our farmers and other women from the area to empower them economically and protect them from brokers,” she adds saying the process of making the four involves manually peeling, chopping into small pieces, cleaning and drying the bananas for a week before they are milled into flour.

Expand production

The women later meet to prepare and package the final products, which they sell to residents.

"Usually, we meet twice a month to do packaging in preparation for the market,” she says.

In a month, they make an average of Sh40,000, a fraction of which they plough back into the business.

Ms Nyambura alludes to plans to expand production by making snacks from the flour to expand their business.

Their business venture is not devoid of challenges as Ms Nyambura states the lack of milling machines and an unreliable market for their products.  

The women have since sent a proposal to the International Funds for Agricultural Development (Ifad) seeking a Sh2.6 million grant to buy requisite equipment needed for mass flour production..

The global Covid-19 pandemic has not spared this innovative group of women either. With the abolition of gathering and social distancing to curb the spread of coronavirus, the women are unable to meet to package their products and the market has also curled away.

Notably, the women only use organic manure for their bananas, ensuring the crop retains its natural appeal.  

According to Ms Mary Njung’e, a member, the group wishes to open a factory for organic products.

Organic food

“The demand for our product is growing as more people embrace organic foods to fight lifestyle diseases,” she says.

The initiative, Ms Njung’e adds, has economically empowered many women farmers in the area. It has also created employment for distributors who are mostly women.

Although the group is predominantly women-led, it has recruited a few men.

Mr Joseph Gitau says since he started working with them, his perception of women has changed tremendously.

“It is commendable what these women are doing. They have changed the mind-sets of many residents and they are a leading example in the region,” he says.