Geofrey Michira is a young entrepreneur producing jaggery, also known as ‘sukari nguru’ from his farm in Awendo, Migori County.
He makes money from selling the produce locally and in neighboring countries where it is mostly used for feed making.
He also sells others to alcohol manufactures to make spirits.
Michira gets his raw materials from farmers who don’t get a chance to sell their produce to sugar processors.
Here is his story as told by WoK.
Jaggery is made by boiling raw, concentrated sugarcane juice until it hardens and appears in dark yellow or brown in color.
In an interview with The Star, Michira noted that he parts with Ksh 10,700 annual license fee in order to remain in business.
The entrepreneur gets raw materials from sugarcanes farmers who prefer to sell their produce to jaggery producers as they get their money at hand.
“We go to where there is sugarcane farming and the price depends on the size of the sugarcane. There are times when there is a shortage of cane so we work with what is there,” he said.
Other than selling his products in Nairobi, Kisii and parts of Western Kenya, he also exports them to feed manufacturers in Tanzania and Uganda.
According to Michira, the process of making jaggery starts with the selection of quality sugarcane from the farm.
Th sugarcane is them put on a crusher to turn it into liquid form which is later boiled until it hardens. Michira has seven boilers.
Ray Onyancha, a casual labourer who works in jaggery production, said after the liquid is removed from the heat, it is put into specific jaggery cups for another one to two hour.
Mature canes can produce up to 120 quality pieces while immature pieces produce anything between 60-70 pieces.
“Once it has cooled off, you remove it from the cups and it will have taken the shape of the cups. The jaggery is then ready for sale and they sell at between Sh50 to Sh75 depending on the size,” he said.
Michira sells the jaggery in bulk with prices ranging from Ksh 35 to Ksh 70.
He started the jaggery business in Kisii and has now expanded to Kilgoris and Narok due to availability of the cane.
