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Cactus, a plant found mostly in Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASAL), is known to be thorny and injurious to animals when they prick the tongue or mouth. It is also very invasive consuming land that would have been used for agricultural purposes.
But true to Laikipia Permaculture Centre’s (LPC) vision of seeing local communities turn challenges into solutions by use of available natural resources and indigenous knowledge with minimal external support, the area community is doing exactly that.
Florence Larpei, an LPC production officer says they have succeeded in turning the nuisance plant into a fortune for the people of Laikipia North.
She spoke to Mt. Kenya Star in Nyeri town during the recent Fourth Annual County Tourism and Cultural Festival at Dedan Kimathi Kamukunji grounds where she had exhibited the products.
LPC has trained four women groups in Doldol how to make juice, wine and jam from the plant.
Fruits which are purple in colour have a lot of juice with about 80 percent of the fruit being juice.
Seeds, which are mostly dispersed by wild animals such as elephants when they feed on them, are pressed to produce oil while some groups have emerged that are using the entire part of the plant to make fuel such as biogas.
The idea is to control the spread of cactus as the communities benefit from their effort as efforts to eliminate the plant through the introduction of the plant’s pests have been unsuccessful. Cactus seeds oil is good for making cosmetics like soap and creams.
Larpei says they produce 100 liters of wine and the same quantity of juice per week. The project was started three years ago. They have been distributing the products in retail outlets in Nanyuki and other parts of Laikipia. The wine is packaged in 750 ml bottles and 1.5 litre bottles which retail at Sh 700 and 1400 respectively.
“For the jam we package in 250 and 500 grammes which we sell at Sh 250 and Sh 500 respectively while for the juice we have 250 ml which we sell at Sh 250,” she says.
The group also makes beauty products such as soaps, lotion and shampoo from Aloe Secundiflora. All their products are satisfied by KEBS. They work with four women groups namely Twala, Natuum, Osuguroi and Nabuku to make various products from the cactus plant. Nabuku makes soaps, lotions and shampoos while Twala has 350 beehives where they harvest honey and process it for sale.
Nabuku and Natuum have 50 beehives each while Osuguroi has 40. LPC has been supporting the women groups on how to come up with various products through processing and buying the cactus fruits from the groups.
“For us we do not want to see the plant as a problem but as a fortune,” she says.
The centre pays farmers for the fruits delivered at Sh 1000 per a 25 kilo crate which has provided employment for women who gather the fruits.
Harvesting and selling of the fruits has not only created jobs for the community but has also changed their perception on the plant which they earlier viewed as a menace to them and their animals. Larpei says their future plans are to see the plant reduce and gradually replacing it with other plants such as grapes that can continue making the same products.
The wine is fermented for three weeks when it becomes ready for consumption but she adds that it continues to mature with age. The alcoholic content is 12 per cent. LPC is located on a four-acre piece of land and was founded in September 2012 by Joseph Lentunyoi, a renowned Permaculture Consultant trainer.
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The Standard Group Plc is a multi-media organization
with investments in media platforms spanning newspaper print operations,
television, radio broadcasting, digital and online services. The Standard Group
is recognized as a leading multi-media house in Kenya with a key influence in
matters of national and international interest.
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