adminBusiness Correspondent
Manicaland forests are sources of different types of highly nutritious and edible foods which can be harvested from the wild without any costs going towards their production and some of its residents have taken advantage of it by venturing into baobab fruit powder production.
Based in Dhaure Village, under Chief Marange, Lovemore Jarawani (65) and 10 of his family members have stood up to the challenge presented to them by harsh weather conditions particularly in the arid Bocha area and ventured into harvesting wild baobab fruits and the production of baobab fruit powder which can be processed into a whole lot other products.
According to Jarawani, the fact that the baobab tree thrives and survives in the dry and sunny Bocha and Buhera climates, producing fruit yearly without any need of adequate maintenance and rainfall has given them reason to lay down their farming inputs at the same moment being innovative by using the tree as an important source of food for many Zimbabweans who need indigenous and nutritious food.
“We have poor soils and rainfall in Bocha but the baobab tree thrives well in these conditions and at the same time being quite resistant to diseases.
“These forests are our sustainable sources of highly nutritious foods which can be harvested from the wild without any expenses.
“However, as our business is growing, we have started to buy the baobab fruit and not collect it ourselves, so we buy 7kgs of fruit for only $2,” he explained.
He also added that the 7kgs of unprocessed fruit produced about 2,5kgs of processed fine powder.
Baobab fruit powder making business is environment friendly in that it required cheaper forms of energy.
“In the preparation and preservation of fruits, we use cheap, inexhaustible and environmental friendly forms of energy.
“We grind our fruit in a mortar using a pestle and then we sieve the produce twice while the final product is stored in an ever closed plastic drum so that there are no unwanted particles entering,” said Jarawani.
The last stage is the packaging where they pack their product into 100 grams and 250 grams packets and start their deliveries to designated points.
It has been scientifically proven that the powder which can be used to make porridge, pancakes, bread, yoghurt and a drink called baobab fruit pulp drink, has seven times more vitamin C than in oranges and is also 3 times richer in calcium than it is in milk.
Chipo Chirinda, a regular customer of Jarawani said that her doctor had recommended her to feed on the fruit or its powder as it guaranteed her health well‐being.
Said Chirinda: “My doctor recommended this powder because among its many other qualities, it supports the assimilation and bio availability of calcium and iron in the body.”
As there are ups in any business, downs are also guaranteed to be there.
Jarawani says that his group is having trouble since there are no potential business investors in the food manufacturing business who would like to team up with them.
“If only we could get investors in our business, we would try and eradicate the poverty in dry Bocha, Buhera and probably even in Zimbabwe because food production costs continue to escalate as droughts continue to be more and more frequent,” he said.
Given the high nutrient content in the baobab fruit powder and the rate at which the product is selling, the business is bound to be a boom in the medium term.
Online Reporter