This archive report was first published on 17 July 2020.
Passion for Sowing Seeds Taking Her to High Places ¶
Carolyne Mukuhi, a 30-year-old entrepreneur, has turned her passion for farming into a successful business, winning the Best Youth in Agriculture category in the Farmers Award Scheme in 2019.
Located in Ruiru, Carolyne's farm, Kimplanter Seedlings and Nurseries Limited, is a thriving enterprise that grows a variety of vegetables, herbs, and fruit seedlings.
Carolyne, who holds a Diploma in Human Resource Development from Thika Technical Institute (TTI) and is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA-K), started her business with an initial investment of Sh70,000.
She began by growing passion fruit seedlings, which she sold to a juice maker who demanded a tonne of fruits weekly. However, Carolyne could only manage to supply 250kg, leading to the contract ending.
Undeterred, Carolyne decided to grow the seedlings herself and started selling them to walk-in clients and making juice for sale to her colleagues at work.
Today, Carolyne's farm produces 1.2 million seedlings per month, employing 15 workers, including trained agronomists. She has not sent them home due to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has brought her mixed fortunes.
Carolyne's kitchen garden pack comes in two varieties, with one assortment of vegetables retailing at Sh500 and the other, which includes veggies and herbs, selling for Sh1,000.
She hopes to expand her business by opening branches in Kajiado, Mwea, Meru, and Ngoliba, and other parts of the country where her clients are located.
According to Donatus Njoroge, a biochemist, the use of cocopeats in seedlings farming is ideal in helping farmers save on production costs by controlling what the plant feeds and retaining water.
