If you grow up in a rural set-up, especially among the Kalenjin community, you might have come across a wild fruit they called ‘Mbunik’ or ‘Mbuni’ in some communities.
Well, the scientific name for this fruit is gooseberry.
What you might not have known is that the fruit is rich in Vitamin C and other minerals (no wonder those of us who ate these fruits rarely got ill). That fruit is no longer considered wild.
Viola Maina, an entrepreneur in Eldoret, Uasin Gishu is now making millions using it and in the process financially empowering farmers.
She has for the last four years or so been sensitizing farmers in the county to plant it, as an alternative to maize.
This is an initiative she started in 2019 after quitting her formal job at the Nation Media Group where she was among the marketers.
Huge potential for the small scale farmers
After quitting the job, she founded Gooseberry Delight Limited – a company that today processes and crafts a variety of products from the Gooseberry fruits.
“Mbunik is a wild fruit that most people did not think could make money out of it and get returns. It is a neglected fruit,” Maina says.
“But for me, I saw it as a new opportunity and a huge potential for the small-scale farmers. It is unique and nobody was doing it,” she added.
The Gooseberry Delight Limited founder and Chief Executive Officer further notes that the fruit does not need much investment, unlike other crops like maize.
From these fruits, the company is able to make juice, and sauce aside from being sold as fresh or dried fruits on their own.
The gooseberry fruit products are sold locally in select supermarkets and also have an international market.
According to Viola Maina, the company is currently receiving up to 2 tons of gooseberries from farmers on a weekly basis.
This is however against a market demand of five tons.
It is estimated that the international market for the gooseberries – for the United Kingdom and other Europe countries is at least 40 tones per week.
This clearly shows that there is a huge demand for gooseberries that farmers need to take advantage of.
