What happens to all the garbage from your
kitchen? How much do you pay garbage services every month to dispose waste from
your house? Three sassy ladies, Millicent Mwihaki, Eunice Wambura and Fidelis
Wangechi make money from kitchen waste that no one thinks about.
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| From left to right: Millicent Mwihaki, Fidelis Wangechi and Eunice Wambura |
Today, human life is constantly
threatened by chronic diseases such as cancer, diabetes and heart diseases.
Health and medical pundits have narrowed down the cause for these diseases to
one term, lifestyle. As my gym
instructor likes to say, what you eat is what you fit. How then do you fight these life threatening
diseases? Organic food is the
answer. It is free from inorganic fertilizer and pesticide residues.
All things organic
The buzz for all things organic has
created numerous opportunities in the organic value chain where young enterpreneurs
can benefit. In the organic farming value chain there are untapped markets in soil
tillage, bio fertilizers, bio pesticides and marketing. Agripreneurs have an
opportunity to do the dirty and reap big.
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| Red wigglers (Eisenia Fetida) |
Millicent, Eunice and Fidelis found
an untapped area in organic farming. They formed a group by the name Young Mkulima Self Help Group. They breed red wigglers or red earth worms
that produce vermi compost and vermi juice. Vermi compost is a bio fertiliser used in
organic farming. Vermi juice is used as top dressing for crops. 1 kg of red earthworms goes for Ksh. 2500. The worms take 4
weeks to breed and they multiply at an extremely high rate. The ladies also
make extra money from vermi juice that goes for Ksh. 500 a litre.
Agriculture is not all dirt
When I first met Millicent, the team
leader, her nails were neatly manicured, her make up was intact and her chic
dressing described her nothing as a farmer. She looked like a business lady
ready to sign a deal any time. She is a graduate of Kenyatta University. I was waiting for her to introduce me to a farm
hand who helps the team with the worms business.
To my rude surprise there was no farm
hand. Millicent introduced me to the Young Mkulima team: Fidelis the group secretary and Eunice the
group treasurer. The three chic ladies do the work themselves. They get worms
for Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT). They place them
in a worm bin. The bin has to be prepared before putting in the worms. Key
materials required to prepare for breeding worms are: ballast, moist organic
waste, a gunny bag and some dry grass for mulching.
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| Young Mkulima's worm bin |
How to the group breeds red wigglers
Step 1. Make a small hole in at the bottom of the plastic bin. Fix a small pipe at
the hole to drain the vermi juice;
the excess water that drains out from the organic foods.
Step 2. Put ballast in the worm bin. Let it settle at the bottom of the
container. The ballast drains out and sieves the excess water that forms vermi juice.
Step 3. Place a gunny bag on top of the ballast.
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| Red wigglers feeding on organic waste |
Step 4. Put in your worms. You could start off with 1 kg to learn the craft.
Step 5. Pour in the organic waste for the worms to feed on.
Step 6. Keep watering the bin regularly. You
could use the water used to clean dishes from you kitchen.
Step 7. Place the mulching on the bin to insulate it. Red wigglers do not like
sunlight. They will crawl to the bottom of the bin to run from sunlight if they
are exposed to too much sunlight.
Step 8. Keep watering your bin to ensure the organic waste is moist at least
once a day and constantly add organic waste to the bin.
Harvesting worms and worm juice
The target market for Millicent’s group
is organic farmers. Farmers buy worms to make vermi compost, a rich bio fertilizer. The ladies also sell vermi juice or worm juice that is used as top
dressing for organic farming. One litre bottle of vermi juice retails at Ksh.
500.
