A young entrepreneur in Kamune, Mathioya, in Murang’a County has innovatively created a system which transforms raw avocado into a higher-value product, saving farmers from post-harvest losses.
Through his customised value addition system, 30-year-old Wilson Maina Mwangi extracts cold-pressed oil from the avocado fruit, leveraging on the availability of the fruit all year long from the farmers who have embarked on this low-labour but lucrative venture.
Processing the avocados has not only significantly increased the profit margins but also saved the farmers from post-harvest losses and also conserved the environment.
“I started sourcing avocados from farmers in 2018, which I would, in turn, sort and sell to companies that are involved in buying and exporting avocados,” he said.
“In 2023, we experienced a challenge with a low supply of the fruit and could not meet the required quantity for the exporting companies, and we ended up discarding the fruits to pig farmers, leading to huge losses for us and the farmers as well,” he added.
Motivated by this unpleasant development, the plant operator graduate, who is also an avocado farmer, discovered a eureka moment.
He buried himself in the world of books, and hours of research bore forth a value-added innovation—to produce skin care oil from the avocados.
“I designed a customised oil-extracting plant from a prototype of a vehicle and engaged the juacali industry experts with my idea sketched on paper,” he said.
From the sketch, he said, the manually driven plant was created, and the oil processing venture became a reality in late 2023.
Consequently, he was able to form Ewiva Farm Limited, which manufactures Avodrops Elixir, the skincare extra virgin avocado oil cold-pressed from the avocado fruit.
Maina is the Director and Proprietor of Ewiva Farm Limited and Wims Farm Enterprises, which is involved in the buying and selling of avocados and macadamia nuts.
KNA visited Ewiva Farms Limited to experience firsthand the oil extraction process, and in the two hours of the interview, more than three tonnes of avocado fruit were brought in safely packed in sacks by contracted riders.
The firm has employed more than 30 young men who visit avocado farmers in the neighbourhood to not only source the fruit but also create a traceability system so as to counter theft of the farm produce.
“We encourage our farmers to grow the avocados organically, and that is why we visit them on a daily basis for technical support so as not to compromise on the quality of our products,” Maina said.
On a normal day, Maina said he buys 10 to 15 tonnes of the fruit at Sh15 per kilogram, which he sorts and extracts the oil from, with the rest going to export companies.
Notably, no avocado fruits are rejected, as even the smallest fruits that cannot pass for export are useful after value addition.
The process of extracting the oil involves sorting the avocados by separating the ripe and unripe ones, washing the ripe ones and cutting them into pieces before making them into a puree (paste).
“Once you separate the pulp from the skin, make it into a paste and sun-dry it for a few days to drain off the water composition in the fruit,” he said.
The paste is then passed through the extracting machine, which presses the puree to extract the oil.
The oil is then packed in amber bottles to extend its shelf life due to the fact that there are no additives.
In a week, the firm is able to produce 30 to 50 litres of the oil, which is packed in 65 and millilitre bottles, with the former retailing at Sh250 and the latter at Sh500.
After pressing, the remaining paste is used as a supplement for animal feeds, while the seeds are used to make seed tea.
The value-added product has opened up new market opportunities for Ewiva Farm Limited, including international markets.
“My vision is to acquire a plant that can do large productions because, as you can see, my customised machine is quite labour intensive and cannot do as much, yet the market has grown exponentially.”
With every drop of the Avodrops oil comes resilience, creativity, innovation, job creation and an empowered society.
Maina urges young people to embrace farming and focus on being job creators to curb unemployment.
“Keep trying and innovating new ideas until you become successful, and do not be afraid to start again,” he said.
By Florence Kinyua
