Amisha Patel is a third generation Kenyan, and like many Kenyan-Asians, her great grandfather came to Kenya during construction of Kenya Uganda Railway. She was born in Mombasa and did her schooling in Nairobi, Eldoret and Nakuru. She later joined Egerton University, Njoro, where I obtained Bachelors Degree, (First Class Hons.) in Biomedical Science and Technology. For seven years she worked as a pure science researcher at the former National Institute of Medical Research (now part of The Francis Crick Institute) in London. On returning to Kenya in 2011, she changed her career direction to Environmental Consultation for the manufacturing and commercial sector-she is still doing that. In 2013, together with her family, she set up Elekea, a company that seeks to implement sustainable business practices for our clients through environmental consultation. Later, they diversified from a service-based business to value addition of natural products. And thus, their flagship brand, O’Bao , which covers products from the Baobab tree was born. Farmbiz Africa, spoke to her about baobab (mabuyu) fruit and she told us why this wild fruit needs more attention than it has been getting. Among other things, she also introduced us to the inner workings of her value addition business and also had a word for budding entrepreneurs.

What doesn’t the world know about Baobab?

The baobab tree is an amazing representation of what nature offers us. Every part of that tree has value. The fruit can generate the superfood powder, the seed releases cosmetic oil, the husks can be used as sources of renewable fuel (we are working on developing briquetting), the leaves have medicinal value, the branches are host to beehives and the trunk stores water. In my travels as an environmental expert to the ASALs, where this tree grows in the wild, I noticed lots of felling to create land for conventional agriculture. This motivated me to identify value addition options from the tree so that the tree owners see it as financial realisation and not just a waste of space. The  O'Bao brand was started as an avenue to bring to Kenyans the fruits of their own country and a way of instilling pride and protecting our natural resources. We are currently ready with the Baboab fruit powder and baobab seed oil, both of which have been through KEBS. This is a pilot project with incredible support from Kenya Forestry Research Institute.

Where do you source your raw products from and how much does it cost you per unit?

We source the whole fruit and it comes from Kibwezi for now. We will be expanding our supplier base once we establish the market response to the brand and its products. As we are a micro enterprise still under incubation and are processing quiet small volumes, thus the cost is very high per unit: we are looking at around 60/Kg of fruit (shelled) including transport to Nairobi.

How easy is it to access the raw product? Are farmers doing enough to ensure consistent supply?

The raw material is seasonal and grows wild. It is also spread across hundreds of kilometres in the South Eastern counties of Kenya. Accessing this without a structured approach is a challenge that we are continually working on. Stocking is important. Being a start-up this is difficult with constraints of finance and space. In the high season the supply is consistent. However, getting the right quality remains to be worked on.

Kindly explain what goes on in the processing of the Baobab fruit

The fruit is sorted and graded both at harvest and once it is received. Each fruit is individually inspected for pest, disease or rot. The good fruit is de-fibred and then passed through a dehuller. We then sieve the powder, and store in dark polythene bags to prevent light and moisture degradation. This is very important as key nutritional ingredient (Vitamin C) is affected by these parameters. This also prevents the growth of microorganisms. Our O’Bao packing is also designed to incorporate these mechanisms (foiled to retain freshness and prevent light access). The seeds from dehulling are washed and sun dried. They are then passed through a screw oil press to expel the oil. The oil is sieved through organic muslin and allowed to settle for 1 month in a sealed opaque storage container. Packing is also done in opaque bottles with pump dispensers to prevent access to light and air which would aid degradation. As the oil is pure, we sometimes expect to see light sediment at the base of the bottle and should not be a concern to customers. We try to go as organic as possible.

How much does a unit of O’Bao cost off the supermarket shelf?

O’Bao Baobab Powder retails at between KSh500-560 per 100g; O’Bao Baobab Seed Oil is expected to retail at between KSh450-595 per 50ml bottle. The world market value is double for both.

How do you market the O’Bao product?

We have stocked our brand at Healthy U stores mainly in Nairobi ( Gigiri, Yaya, Galleria, Junction, Sarit Centre and Westgate) and Nakuru (Westside mall). It is also stocked at Rednest Salon in Park Suites, Parklands Road and Auras Beauty Salon at New Muthaiga Mall. We are in talks with other retailers so that we may reach more Kenyans.

What advice would you give to Kenyan farmers/youth, who want to make money from their ideas?

I believe the approach to doing business just for money is unsustainable and short sighted. Have milestones instead of goals. The idea is to never reach your goal, allowing for diversification to ensure success. Do your homework and be ready to sacrifice your time and money. Many businesses do not survive because the vision is lost once money starts flowing in. Be ethical in your business practices but also realistic. There is nothing more damaging to your brand than lack of integrity. Do your best to meet customer demands but have a damage control plan when you are unsuccessful in doing so. Have realistic expectations from your business. Do not expect to make millions the first, second or even third year. You are just starting to get some returns on investment. Survive the 5 years mark and you can safely say you are a business person. Know when to get out. Perseverance and determination is well and good, but it’s important to have an exit plan should things not work out.

A company in Kenya is training rural and urban communities on growing bamboo, propagating, harvesting and making products, giving income to hundreds and offering a viable alternative to wood that has become expensive in making furniture.

Kenya Bamboo Center, which is now working with groups in Korogocho, Huruma, Embakasi and Suba area in Nyanza trains farmers to appreciate the wonders of bamboo farming, and the market for the over 1500 products that can be derived from the tree.

The project which happened by chance after its manager  Pollycurp Akoko Mboyah lost a job in the civil  service after having worked for 11 years not only has however been dealing with the herculean task of popularizing a tree that takes between two to five years to mature, in a society used to quick returns. “The first group we dealt with in Huruma and which was our pilot project was such a tough task. While the group members warmed up to the idea at first, they patience died down when after an year they still could not harvest the tree. They had been used to getting instant income. They ended up uprooting the trees,” said Mboyah.

But Mboyah said those who have braved on now know the benefit of farming the bamboo and are reaping from it.

The center sells seedlings to the farmers, then trains the farmers on good management practices of the tree including propagation, watering, when and how to harvest to ensure that the final wood is hard enough. “Again there has been a problem with harvesting the wood by some farmers. So we train them how to harvest, dry the wood first and make sure that the final product is good enough to sell to clients. It makes all the difference in determining whether a client will come back,” Mboyah added.

The company has gone further and imported a variety of modern and better maturing seeds which they are raising as seedlings in their nurseries with a view to introduce it to the farmers.

According to Mboyah the market for bamboo has grown tremendously in the recent past, with the international market looking at Africa to supply the raw and finished products.

Infact Mboyah's first seeds were given to him by an Italian social entrepreneur who was working on a bamboo project in Huruma.

A Nowergian company, Waterstorm, working with the GreenBelt Movement has also planted two acres of bamboo in Maragua area of Murang'a county, with a view to harvesting the bamboo to make flooring tiles. Kenya Bamboo Center is working with the company to create market for its groups.

But Mboyah want to train farmers to make low cost bamboo products tailored for the local market to get them to appreciate the monetary value of the tree. “We want to train them to make products that have a high demand locally like cooking sticks, chapati rolls and table mats for starters. Already we have received orders as far as Greece for table mats. The market has expressed huge appetite for bamboo products,” Mboyah said.

As a champion of changing perception on the benefits of bamboo farming, Mboya has been walking a tight rope in convincing farmers of the plants' benefits. In Suba area of Nyanza where a project was introduced to get the farmers to move from tobacco farming to cultivation of bamboo, farmers uprooted the bamboo trees three months after planting for what they called ' not getting returns first.'

But Mboyah insists that the over 200 bamboo species are more than just trees and are key in environmental conservation by being able to absorb up to 12 per cent of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, for every hectare. “The beauty with bamboo again is that you can harvest the same every year compared other trees,” he added.

This would be welcome news to the country which has been reeling under acute shortage of timber which has seen it turn to imports, and spending over Sh3billion.

Besides bridging the shortage, this would also open the entrepreneurs in the bamboo business to an international market with an insatiable appetite, with the industry's worth currently standing at $11 billion annually according to the International Network for Bamboo and Rattan (INBAR).

China has perfected the bamboo market and currently remains the largest producer globally, at 80 per cent of all global production, and using 60 per cent of it for local consumption.

For more information contact below:

Pollycurp Mboyah- Manager

Cellphone: 0713804236