Farming my way into the fastlane

[Awakened2022]

Honestly, this is so refreshing to follow, everyone wants to build "cool" businesses - marketing agencies, e-commerce, real estate, etc., and you're filling one of the most basic human needs - the need for food. Not that there's anything wrong with the trendy businesses.

I love it and the way you write is unique (in a good way). Looking forward to reading about your future success, potentially, exporting to other countries, or expanding with other products.

Thanks, @Delivery for the thumbs up. I am also pretty excited about this business since some neighbors are already benefiting by working in the gardens, while others have found a ready market in me. Four women have this week alone told me they are following my example of planting cassava in the periphery of their small banana gardens.

All these are thanks to @M.J Demarco, his books, and this amazing forum.

Looking to the future with optimism,

Aura.

 

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[Awakened2022]

Time to Up the Game.

I spent the last two weeks in the village and sowed a few seeds (literary and figuratively).
1. My seven-year-old daughter accompanied me to the garden for the first time and asked me so many questions about cassava. I told her it is used in making bread, chapatis, daddies, and biscuits. She then declared she would own a bakery when she grew up. A seed sowed.

2. Because I was short of cash and needed money to pay the casual workers, I decided to pick some coffee and sell it unprocessed( some trees will always ripen offseason, and we sometimes ignore them and leave the cherries to fall off due to labour constraints.) I went with my eleven-year-old daughter who was very impressed by the fact that we picked $4 worth of coffee from one tree. She wondered how much money we would make if each coffee tree could give us that much. I have since been wondering how we could achieve that feat on our farm and bid penny-pinching farewell.Another seed sowed.

3. I was able to plant 230+ 260 +520 new cassava stems, bringing me closer to my goal of 1k plants.

I sampled the 9-month-old garden and realised that those who say this variety matures in 8 months lied to us. I am going to wait till it makes one year in May and start " harvesting money."

At the store, things are slow, but I do get some sales. The Tanzania suppliers were here yesterday, but the quality of their chips leaves a lot to be desired. People bought it because they had no better option. I hope to be that option soon.
The beauty of this business is that I make the bulk of my sales via phone orders. Therefore, I could choose to only open the store to make deliveries when more people have discovered us.

Though business is slow, there is one commodity people are looking for and no one has enough of it! HAND SHELLED PEANUTS! It is the planting season and people need the indigenous seeds for planting. Unfortunately, the market is flooded with imported ones from Malawi which are machine-shelled and have a low germination rate.

I had planned to stock lots of the indigenous ones when I encountered this phenomenon last year, but the economy had other plans and I have literally "eaten the store down." Whatever little I had has been sold, and it broke my heart to have to turn down an order for 100 kgs yesterday.

I plan to intercrop peanuts with the new and young cassava, stock more of the indigenous ones in June(when harvesting begins), use my village women to hand shell them at a fee, and watch the prices soar.
I have for sometime played with the idea of making peanut butter, and maybe it is time to add another product to my list. What this venture needs is serious capital (in my context $5000) would suffice to buy enough stock during harvest and target the beginning of new school terms as parents rush to meet their kid's nutritional requirements. Let us wait and see how much the cassava will bring in this year.

In the meantime, I am back at school teaching and the weather is still on its best behaviour( no hailstones/storms).

Thanks for reading through.Till next time,

Aura.

 

[Sek_Tony]

Woww...I have just gone through this thread and I am truly inspired by your determination, consistency and work ethic.
As a fellow Ugandan, you've honestly inspired and challenged me to think bigger. I'm rooting for you.

 

[jsharpe]

Farming My Way Into the Fastlane: I love this.

I find it humorous that you are going the UNSCRIPTED wrong way away from the educational system.

I am a homesteader with 9 children in N Idaho. I too am ready to set aside my biases about smart work vs work that provides access to the Fastlane.

I work remotely for an AI/Automation company by day. I make good Slowlane money there. This summer I built an Amish shed with my children that did not sell. I also started a Handyman business with a contractor's license in the fall. I did not like doing work for other people for so little.

 

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[jsharpe]

Love the coopetition to hire your neighbors as growers!

 

[Private Witt]

Time to Up the Game.

I spent the last two weeks in the village and sowed a few seeds (literary and figuratively).
1. My seven-year-old daughter accompanied me to the garden for the first time and asked me so many questions about cassava. I told her it is used in making bread, chapatis, daddies, and biscuits. She then declared she would own a bakery when she grew up. A seed sowed.

2. Because I was short of cash and needed money to pay the casual workers, I decided to pick some coffee and sell it unprocessed( some trees will always ripen offseason, and we sometimes ignore them and leave the cherries to fall off due to labour constraints.) I went with my eleven-year-old daughter who was very impressed by the fact that we picked $4 worth of coffee from one tree. She wondered how much money we would make if each coffee tree could give us that much. I have since been wondering how we could achieve that feat on our farm and bid penny-pinching farewell.Another seed sowed.

3. I was able to plant 230+ 260 +520 new cassava stems, bringing me closer to my goal of 1k plants.

I sampled the 9-month-old garden and realised that those who say this variety matures in 8 months lied to us. I am going to wait till it makes one year in May and start " harvesting money."

At the store, things are slow, but I do get some sales. The Tanzania suppliers were here yesterday, but the quality of their chips leaves a lot to be desired. People bought it because they had no better option. I hope to be that option soon.
The beauty of this business is that I make the bulk of my sales via phone orders. Therefore, I could choose to only open the store to make deliveries when more people have discovered us.

Though business is slow, there is one commodity people are looking for and no one has enough of it! HAND SHELLED PEANUTS! It is the planting season and people need the indigenous seeds for planting. Unfortunately, the market is flooded with imported ones from Malawi which are machine-shelled and have a low germination rate.

I had planned to stock lots of the indigenous ones when I encountered this phenomenon last year, but the economy had other plans and I have literally "eaten the store down." Whatever little I had has been sold, and it broke my heart to have to turn down an order for 100 kgs yesterday.

I plan to intercrop peanuts with the new and young cassava, stock more of the indigenous ones in June(when harvesting begins), use my village women to hand shell them at a fee, and watch the prices soar.
I have for sometime played with the idea of making peanut butter, and maybe it is time to add another product to my list. What this venture needs is serious capital (in my context $5000) would suffice to buy enough stock during harvest and target the beginning of new school terms as parents rush to meet their kid's nutritional requirements. Let us wait and see how much the cassava will bring in this year.

In the meantime, I am back at school teaching and the weather is still on its best behaviour( no hailstones/storms).

Thanks for reading through.Till next time,

Aura.

Thanks for the update and good to see you are doing well. Wishing you a happy and prosperous 2024!

 

[Awakened2022]

Thanks for the update and good to see you are doing well. Wishing you a happy and prosperous 2024!

Thank you, and welcome (back) to the forum.
Let us hope we shall have something massive to celebrate before this year ends, given the support this forum is giving me.

 

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[Awakened2022]

Love the competition to hire your neighbors as growers!

Thank you for the thumbs up. They too didn't know cassava could become a commercial crop. So, by providing a market, they are motivated to grow more. What is even interesting is that cassava is a woman's crop. Therefore, in a society where everything (almost) belongs to the man, it is a breath of fresh air when a woman earns some money to which the man cannot lay claim.

Their challenge is that most cannot dry it to the standard demanded by the market, and that is where I plan to come in with a solar drier.

 

[Awakened2022]

Woww...I have just gone through this thread and I am truly inspired by your determination, consistency, and work ethic.
As a fellow Ugandan, you've honestly inspired and challenged me to think bigger. I'm rooting for you.

Thanks for the kind words. I missed your comment as I have been busy supervising the planting of beans, and peanuts. I am glad to know that you found some inspiration in my progress.

 

[Awakened2022]

find it humorous that you are going the UNSCRIPTED wrong way away from the educational system.

18 years in an education system that rewards Science teachers with a salary that is four times what a teacher of Arts subjects earns would make anyone do the most unconventional of things to escape such injustice.

I wish you the best in your venture.

 

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[Awakened2022]

By their fruits will they be known


I have managed to plant another 350 cassava plants. In addition, the acreage under beans and peanuts has increased. With good weather, my inventory should comprise mostly of products from my farm, effective June.

My sharecroppers have given me enough millet to last us the whole year. I guess that is how passive income tastes since all I did was provide land for the crop.

I have been visiting B2B sites to get a feel of the quantities importers require, and boy! the quantities are staggering! It makes me feel like I have not started planting cassava where I thought I was breaking records( the difference between thinking locally versus thinking globally). This has inspired me to rent more land(in the process of getting 1/4 acre from my mother-in-law) and plant more cassava.

At the store, I am struggling to get clean chips as whatever I procure finds immediate market provided it is clean and white, which is rarely the case. The rains have come and we have to wait for May (when the dry season starts) to dry the chips in tons.

Through acting, assessing, and adjusting, I have added another product to my list of those to focus on when the time comes to go national and global. Still, because of my mother's training, we would winnow millet till it was fully chaff-free, and grit-free. That woman makes the best millet bread in the world.)The millet that is supplied to us is factory winnowed( for lack of a better word). My neighbours simply get it milled as is. For me, I get some women to winnow it further and remove whatever chaff and grit might have remained. In effect, my flour is becoming a productocracy, making me think since it is used together with cassava flour most of the time, I should make it another product under my name.

For all those who prayed for my son, thank you. He aced his exams and qualifies to join any of the best schools in the country for Advanced Level education. Fortunately, with some sacrifice here and there, we shall be able to send him to the best school in the country. This is only possible because we have hope of getting money from the cassava project. One could say this forum is changing the narrative of my son's future.

On a light note, we have birds that can easily destroy a whole garden of beans when they are just germinating. This happened to one of my gardens last season. The local women have now advised me to take clothes belonging to my twins and ask the birds what they expect me to feed the twins if they destroy my beans, then leave the clothes in the garden. I will report next week on the success of my communication with the birds when I have inspected the gardens.#respect local women.

P.S.: I am grateful to @Mikkel who has made it his mission to make an exporter out of me. Your efforts are not in vain as my mind has now become accustomed to the fact that it can be done. To all those who follow my progress and give me advice, my gratitude knows no bounds.

Till next time,
Aura.

 

[Awakened2022]

Wow, your story is awesome! From a retail shop to a grocery store and now growing cassava – that's quite a journey. Your plan to plant 10,000 cassava plants is impressive. The solar dryer idea is smart, too. Wishing you a year of growth and success!

Thanks for taking the time to go through my progress. When the odds are stacked against you like they are in my day job, the only option is to shatter limiting beliefs.
Lined up is an export business.

Always,
Aura.

 

[Awakened2022]

Man plans, God laughs.
This about sums up my situation now. I took the S in CENTS seriously and planted three times the quantities I was previously doing of beans and peanuts.
Mid-March is the time when it normally rains without a break. Instead, it is as if the sun is out to prove it's supremacy over other planets. If it does not rain soon, I might live to testify to the importance of the commandment of Control. Hopefully, God will soon tire of laughing at my plans!

Luckily for me, cassava is a drought-tolerant crop, and my gardens are doing well. The prices have however plummeted. This could be due to the drought that has facilitated massive drying. Since my target has shifted from the local scene to the international one, I guess I needn't be overly worried about price fluctuations.

The business course I am undertaking requires a logo for my business. I paid someone $4 to design one for me. I hope to get suggestions from you experienced people. I have also finally decided to take serious computer lessons if I am to find my footing in the world of business. I don't have a computer at home and will be using those at school. I will be studying for two hours three days a week. Is that time enough for me to grab the basics?
I find it frustrating that I can't even create a logo using Canva. Is there a way I can learn Excel and simple design using my phone?

I had an epiphany yesterday when @ZCP told a forum member to get 25 clients. This opened my eyes to new possibilities. I realized that if I had 25 customers per day, even if they bought the smallest quantity from my store, I would have a delivery system in place, and separate my time from the business. So far, I have one small hotel customer who buys 1 kg of millet and cassava flour daily, one hotel that buys 7 kgs of peanuts and beans weekly, a school that buys 20 kgs of millet flour monthly, and two retail shops that buy 50 kgs of cassava flour each monthly. These are sales I am sure of making whether I am at the store or not.
The plan now is to reach out to more hotel owners and hit the number 25.

Today, I passed by our post office and was surprised to learn that it is possible to send say, a kilogram of cassava flour to the US from this corner of the world. I will go back for details when I am not in a hurry like I was today.

I don't know whether I am the only one with this flaw, but I derive more pleasure from the customers' satisfaction than from the profit margins. Therefore, when a customer comments on how unique my flour is, I feel like hugging them! I also live off the gratitude of the village women whose cassava chips and beans I buy to sell in my store. Sometimes, I give them better deals because I empathize with the pain they go through to produce their goods. Won't this humanism be my undoing?

I have also got a deal to supply rice to the school where I formerly taught on a part-time basis effective June. We are yet to agree on the price and quantity.

My plan for April is :
Learn computer.
Find out postal rates for international packages.
Complete the online business course I am doing.
Add at least five customers to my list of must-sell to.

Till next time,
Aura.
PS. I really need advice on what computer packages I need to learn to be able to navigate B2B sites, post links, upload photos to websites, and even navigate KDP. Thanks in advance.

 

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[Mikkel]

This about sums up my situation now. I took the S in CENTS seriously and planted three times the quantities I was previously doing of beans and peanuts.
Mid-March is the time when it normally rains without a break. Instead, it is as if the sun is out to prove it's supremacy over other planets. If it does not rain soon, I might live to testify to the importance of the commandment of Control. Hopefully, God will soon tire of laughing at my plans!

There are different levels of control. The goal would be to increase your level of control over your business, the more the better. If you so choose change your business model where you are focus more on purchasing local goods and selling them, then weather will only effect the volume you can purchase and sell. However, it will mean that if peanuts don't grow one year, you won't lose money as you simply would not purchase the peanuts. So you reduce your downside risk.

The business course I am undertaking requires a logo for my business. I paid someone $4 to design one for me. I hope to get suggestions from you experienced people. I have also finally decided to take serious computer lessons if I am to find my footing in the world of business. I don't have a computer at home and will be using those at school. I will be studying for two hours three days a week. Is that time enough for me to grab the basics?

What suggestions are you looking for in regards to a logo? For now, learning how to use a computer is more important than learning how to do graphic design. However, when it comes to a logo, when you are just starting off, you don't need to go crazy. Just a text based logo would be fine. This means you just have a unique font-style and maybe unique colors or positioning of the letters/words. A graphic is nice, but not needed.

Two hours, three times a week should suffice. The internet and computer today is both more confusing and less confusing then of the past. To navigate the internet and computer is more simple, but due to the incredible amount of features it can make it more confusing. Just like anything else, the more you use it, the more you will learn.

I find it frustrating that I can't even create a logo using Canva. Is there a way I can learn Excel and simple design using my phone?

Once you log into Canva, you could learn in about an hour. Have you used YouTube before? YouTube is one of the greatest sources of learning that is totally free. If you want to learn Canva, a person on YouTube will show you step by step how to do this.

I would suggest learning on a computer, but it is not impossible just much less efficient.

The plan now is to reach out to more hotel owners and hit the number 25.

That's awesome! Keep us updated on this!

Today, I passed by our post office and was surprised to learn that it is possible to send say, a kilogram of cassava flour to the US from this corner of the world. I will go back for details when I am not in a hurry like I was today.

Yes. It is possible, though it is generally quite expense(at least here in the US and I suppose also where you live too). Sending samples of your product would be smart thos way. However, bulk shipping is far more cost effective using a shipping freight forwarder.

I don't know whether I am the only one with this flaw, but I derive more pleasure from the customers' satisfaction than from the profit margins. Therefore, when a customer comments on how unique my flour is, I feel like hugging them! I also live off the gratitude of the village women whose cassava chips and beans I buy to sell in my store. Sometimes, I give them better deals because I empathize with the pain they go through to produce their goods. Won't this humanism be my undoing?

Business is quite straight forward. You have input costs and you have the price you sell your goods. If you buy a kg of Cassava for 5 Ugandan Shillings more than the fair market price then the cost will either be passed on to YOU (you make less money) or to your customer(locals will have to pay for more expensive food).

If you provide handouts to people, then if you run out of business(whether it be due to generosity or other circumstances) they will fall lower due to the lack of handouts, ultimately hurting them. What I think would be better, is to provide these women who farm the Cassava, to offer or provide a method for them to be more efficient. That may be methods to plant faster(tools?), better access to water during dry season(water well?), better land fertility(better soil management). All of these things will be a win-win for everyone. The farmers would produce more and make more money, you can buy more product possibly at a cheaper price per unit, and your customers will have more food to eat and buy and possibly at a cheaper cost.

If you give handouts, someone will lose and someone will win. If you innovate, everyone wins.

I have also got a deal to supply rice to the school where I formerly taught on a part-time basis effective June. We are yet to agree on the price and quantity.

Do you produce rice yourself? See what resources the school needs and at what price they are willing to purchase the products at. Then you can see if you can source these products and generate more income.

PS. I really need advice on what computer packages I need to learn to be able to navigate B2B sites, post links, upload photos to websites, and even navigate KDP. Thanks in advance.

I am not sure what computer packages there are out there. Is there a link or different packages you could list out? I'm also not sure what KDP is. I will say, YouTube can teach you all of these things though.

 

[Awakened2022]

There are different levels of control. The goal would be to increase your level of control over your business, the more the better. If you so choose change your business model where you are focus more on purchasing local goods and selling them, then weather will only effect the volume you can purchase and sell. However, it will mean that if peanuts don't grow one year, you won't lose money as you simply would not purchase the peanuts. So you reduce your downside risk.


What suggestions are you looking for in regards to a logo? For now, learning how to use a computer is more important than learning how to do graphic design. However, when it comes to a logo, when you are just starting off, you don't need to go crazy. Just a text based logo would be fine. This means you just have a unique font-style and maybe unique colors or positioning of the letters/words. A graphic is nice, but not needed.

Two hours, three times a week should suffice. The internet and computer today is both more confusing and less confusing then of the past. To navigate the internet and computer is more simple, but due to the incredible amount of features it can make it more confusing. Just like anything else, the more you use it, the more you will learn.


Once you log into Canva, you could learn in about an hour. Have you used YouTube before? YouTube is one of the greatest sources of learning that is totally free. If you want to learn Canva, a person on YouTube will show you step by step how to do this.

I would suggest learning on a computer, but it is not impossible just much less efficient.


That's awesome! Keep us updated on this!


Yes. It is possible, though it is generally quite expense(at least here in the US and I suppose also where you live too). Sending samples of your product would be smart thos way. However, bulk shipping is far more cost effective using a shipping freight forwarder.


Business is quite straight forward. You have input costs and you have the price you sell your goods. If you buy a kg of Cassava for 5 Ugandan Shillings more than the fair market price then the cost will either be passed on to YOU (you make less money) or to your customer(locals will have to pay for more expensive food).

If you provide handouts to people, then if you run out of business(whether it be due to generosity or other circumstances) they will fall lower due to the lack of handouts, ultimately hurting them. What I think would be better, is to provide these women who farm the Cassava, to offer or provide a method for them to be more efficient. That may be methods to plant faster(tools?), better access to water during dry season(water well?), better land fertility(better soil management). All of these things will be a win-win for everyone. The farmers would produce more and make more money, you can buy more product possibly at a cheaper price per unit, and your customers will have more food to eat and buy and possibly at a cheaper cost.

If you give handouts, someone will lose and someone will win. If you innovate, everyone wins.


Do you produce rice yourself? See what resources the school needs and at what price they are willing to purchase the products at. Then you can see if you can source these products and generate more income.


I am not sure what computer packages there are out there. Is there a link or different packages you could list out? I'm also not sure what KDP is. I will say, YouTube can teach you all of these things though.

Thanks, @Mikkel for your response. To answer some of your queries:

Purchasing local products and reselling them at a profit is my goal. The reason I had gone into producing them this year is that I needed to raise capital without getting a loan. Another good thing about producing them myself is that the labour is cheap, the land is mine, and I get to control the quality. In effect, they fetch a high price even when they are commoditized items. For instance, beans are at 2500shs but I sell mine at 3500shs a kilo because they are clean and attractive. I have learnt a lesson, though, and will focus more on purchasing than on growing, except I will take time and source for good quality items.

Concerning giving the local women a deal, it is because their beans are of better quality than what I would purchase from the delivery trucks that flock to the market. While my margins are smaller than if I bought from the trucks, the quality ensures repeat customers.

To increase productivity as you advise, I have already given out free cassava cultivars of the fast-yielding, disease-resistant Narocass 1 variety to 5 women. More are lined up to receive theirs when the rains return. Some of these women have learned to tend to cassava chips to meet my customers' standards. Therefore, if they continue cultivating it, assured of a market from my side, I will no longer worry about running out of suppliers.

I do not grow rice, but it is grown in an area nearby. This school has about 450 students and they eat rice every Sunday. If I purchase it during the harvesting period and store it, I will make a neat profit since I will be assured of demand. If I can increase the number of schools to say 5, I will be in business.

I included the logo someone made for me and would appreciate your people's seasoned business eyes to critique it.

I know about YouTube and have been using it to learn some recipes. I just didn't think of using it to learn computer. Thanks for the advice.

I recently wrote a story for our Whatsapp group and the ladies were smitten with it. Many have encouraged me to write more, with some promising to buy a collection of such stories if it existed. They are not the first people to appreciate my storytelling skills. KDP is Kindle direct publishing. I feel that if I can move my computer skills from just typing to formatting page layouts, designing book covers, and creating links(you get the direction of my wishes), I can also navigate that area of my talents.
The school has computers, and the lab assistant has promised to teach me, but I guess I need to know what programs are suited to my needs.

All in all, thanks for the response. It helped put some things into perspective for me.
Till next time,
Aura.
P.S. I have just come across my 10-5 - 1 year Planasay and I think I am still on the right course. Here it is.

 

[Mikkel]

Purchasing local products and reselling them at a profit is my goal. The reason I had gone into producing them this year is that I needed to raise capital without getting a loan. Another good thing about producing them myself is that the labour is cheap, the land is mine, and I get to control the quality. In effect, they fetch a high price even when they are commoditized items. For instance, beans are at 2500shs but I sell mine at 3500shs a kilo because they are clean and attractive. I have learnt a lesson, though, and will focus more on purchasing than on growing, except I will take time and source for good quality items.

For now, farming for yourself makes sense. At some point, you want to focus on what will make you the most return on your time. So that will mean stepping away from farming and focus on more scalable tasks.

Concerning giving the local women a deal, it is because their beans are of better quality than what I would purchase from the delivery trucks that flock to the market. While my margins are smaller than if I bought from the trucks, the quality ensures repeat customers.

If you are paying higher prices to the farmers for higher quality, then that is no handout. That is you paying for better quality, which should then be passed onto the customer.

To increase productivity as you advise, I have already given out free cassava cultivars of the fast-yielding, disease-resistant Narocass 1 variety to 5 women. More are lined up to receive theirs when the rains return. Some of these women have learned to tend to cassava chips to meet my customers' standards. Therefore, if they continue cultivating it, assured of a market from my side, I will no longer worry about running out of suppliers.

This is great! Now what else can you do to help the women who farm with you to produce more for the same amount of labor?

I do not grow rice, but it is grown in an area nearby. This school has about 450 students and they eat rice every Sunday. If I purchase it during the harvesting period and store it, I will make a neat profit since I will be assured of demand. If I can increase the number of schools to say 5, I will be in business.

This sounds like another great way to scale. Reach out to as many schools as you can, be their supplier of food. Great recurring revenue.

I included the logo someone made for me and would appreciate your people's seasoned business eyes to critique it.

The logo will suffice for now. However, the logo insists you ONLY sell Cassava Flour. You should not limit yourself to only Cassava or only Casava flour. When you start selling rice, people will be confused why a company that has a logo about cassava flour is selling them rice.

I recently wrote a story for our Whatsapp group and the ladies were smitten with it. Many have encouraged me to write more, with some promising to buy a collection of such stories if it existed. They are not the first people to appreciate my storytelling skills. KDP is Kindle direct publishing. I feel that if I can move my computer skills from just typing to formatting page layouts, designing book covers, and creating links(you get the direction of my wishes), I can also navigate that area of my talents.

That sounds very cool! I know very little about writing and books. I would assume, to make it easier for yourself at this point, you could probably just make PDF files and sell the PDF to people.

 

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[Awakened2022]

If you are paying higher prices to the farmers for higher quality, then that is no handout. That is you paying for better quality, which should then be passed onto the customer.

High quality is my value skew in a market where people just aim at selling " as is."

The logo will suffice for now. However, the logo insists you ONLY sell Cassava Flour. You should not limit yourself to only Cassava or only Casava flour. When you start selling rice, people will be confused why a company that has a logo about cassava flour is selling them rice.

Thanks for the feedback. As for the other products, you have to remember I am a work in progress and don't even have a company name yet. Our store is a combination of my and my husband's name. When we do scale to packing other products, I guess we shall have to decide as to what name to adopt. In the meantime, that will do since the cassava flour business is what I am using for study purposes.

This is great! Now what else can you do to help the women who farm with you to produce more for the same amount of labor

Food for thought.Getting premium customers( supermarket or export) and paying them premium prices perhaps?

That sounds very cool! I know very little about writing and books.

May be someone like @Roli, @WJK, @Vigilante, or @MTF can help? I do not need to make a lot of money writing since it won't be my main business. It is just that I feel I owe it to myself, and those who enjoy my stories and poems( once in a while I get poem requests from fellow teachers and former students) to get them published. You never know what could come of it.

Thanks for the prompts. Till next time,
Aura.

 

[Stargazer]

If you were simply called 'Auraz Organic' you have solved the future product lines problem .

The product would then be the next line on the packaging to reflect whatever Auraz Organic was selling in that box, bag, crate whatever.

Apple is the company. Apple then iPhone or Apple then iMac on the packaging, adverts etc but Apple is the top layer.

Auraz Organic then Cassava Flour, Auraz Organic then Arabica Coffee Beans.

Dan

 

[Awakened2022]

If you were simply called 'Auraz Organic' you have solved the future product lines problem .

The product would then be the next line on the packaging to reflect whatever Auraz Organic was selling in that box, bag, crate whatever.

Apple is the company. Apple then iPhone or Apple then iMac on the packaging, adverts etc but Apple is the top layer.

Auraz Organic then Cassava Flour, Auraz Organic then Arabica Coffee Beans.

Dan

Thank you Dan. It makes a lot of sense. I am glad I asked.

 

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[Roli]

That sounds very cool! I know very little about writing and books. I would assume, to make it easier for yourself at this point, you could probably just make PDF files and sell the PDF to people.

You can join Reedsy and upload your book there for free, they will output it in .pdf or pub format. Very easy, really nice service.

 

[Awakened2022]

You can join Reedsy and upload your book there for free, they will output it in .pdf or pub format. Very easy, really nice service.

Thank you @Roli. Tagging you was a long shot on my part, and I am glad you have lived up to the bait.
I will be back soon with updates.

 

[Awakened2022]

And...

IT HAS RAINED.
Till next time,
Aura.

 

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[WilliamSherman]

Thanks, @Mikkel for your response. To answer some of your queries:

Purchasing local products and reselling them at a profit is my goal. The reason I had gone into producing them this year is that I needed to raise capital without getting a loan. Another good thing about producing them myself is that the labour is cheap, the land is mine, and I get to control the quality. In effect, they fetch a high price even when they are commoditized items. For instance, beans are at 2500shs but I sell mine at 3500shs a kilo because they are clean and attractive. I have learnt a lesson, though, and will focus more on purchasing than on growing, except I will take time and source for good quality items.

Concerning giving the local women a deal, it is because their beans are of better quality than what I would purchase from the delivery trucks that flock to the market. While my margins are smaller than if I bought from the trucks, the quality ensures repeat customers.

To increase productivity as you advise, I have already given out free cassava cultivars of the fast-yielding, disease-resistant Narocass 1 variety to 5 women. More are lined up to receive theirs when the rains return. Some of these women have learned to tend to cassava chips to meet my customers' standards. Therefore, if they continue cultivating it, assured of a market from my side, I will no longer worry about running out of suppliers.

I do not grow rice, but it is grown in an area nearby. This school has about 450 students and they eat rice every Sunday. If I purchase it during the harvesting period and store it, I will make a neat profit since I will be assured of demand. If I can increase the number of schools to say 5, I will be in business.

I included the logo someone made for me and would appreciate your people's seasoned business eyes to critique it.

I know about YouTube and have been using it to learn some recipes. I just didn't think of using it to learn computer. Thanks for the advice.

I recently wrote a story for our Whatsapp group and the ladies were smitten with it. Many have encouraged me to write more, with some promising to buy a collection of such stories if it existed. They are not the first people to appreciate my storytelling skills. KDP is Kindle direct publishing. I feel that if I can move my computer skills from just typing to formatting page layouts, designing book covers, and creating links(you get the direction of my wishes), I can also navigate that area of my talents.
The school has computers, and the lab assistant has promised to teach me, but I guess I need to know what programs are suited to my needs.

All in all, thanks for the response. It helped put some things into perspective for me.
Till next time,
Aura.
P.S. I have just come across my 10-5 - 1 year Planasay and I think I am still on the right course. Here it is.

I think it's a smart move to give more women cassava plants. This way, you'll have more suppliers and won't run out of stock. Looking into selling rice to schools is also a good idea for making more money. Just be sure to really look into how to store the rice and how much you'll need to meet the demand.

 

[Awakened2022]

Accountability time

I have for the past three months been privy to all the INSIDERS magic, thanks to an anonymous donor. Though I have never been to a first world country, and my impressions are informed by the novels I read and some films, I would imagine INSIDERS is first world, and,... you have guessed what the normal forum is.

I therefore encourage whoever is struggling with ideas, and or has hit a plateau in their efforts, to take a leap of faith and traverse INSIDERS for at least three months.

I have drunk in @Walter Hays AMA, ruminated over @MTF's Publishing thread, toothcombed @Allen Crawley's thread on how to sell to the affluent,and... I have learnt lessons no school can teach.

In appreciation, I have given out improved cassava cultivars to three village women and four fellow teachers. I have a group of 10 women lined up for theirs when the rainy season starts in August.

I hope to become an INSIDERS in my own right when I make enough sales to justify the luxury (it is the first gift I will give myself).

Where my project is as of now

I estimate the number of cassava plants to stand at 7000 with 900 making one year this April and the rest ranging from 2 _8 months. I will harvest the former in July when the dry season is at at its peak. I have learnt that prices for cassava chips vary from town to town.So, I will have to do serious market research.

The lady who exports ginger told me there is demand for cassava flour, but that they need it in thousands of tonnes. She passed by my store , was wowed by the quality of the chips, took photos, and is yet to get feedback from her contact.

Coffee prices have hit a record high, but the harvest season for my region begins in May. I hope the prices remain stable so that we don't get late to the party.
Since it has been raining, the beans and peanuts are looking good. I should begin harvesting the beans early May, and the peanuts in June. I already have an order for 100kgs of hand-shelled peanuts. The proceeds from them should boost my store's inventory.

In other news, I am going into my third week of computer lessons, and IAM happy with my progress.
Last night, I wrote a non-fiction story on a WhatsApp group and got about six "encourages" to monetise my writing skills.

Since my last post, I have fallen in love with Auraz Organics ( company name) as suggested by a member on this forum, and is what I am going with.

I will next post when
1. I have made a huge harvest
2. Made a big sale
3.Had my first branded sample, or
4. I need advice only this forum can give.

Till then,
Aura.

P.S.I will hit my target of 10000 plants in August when I put the two acres currently under peanuts to cassava growing.
I appreciate the time you take to peruse my progress thread.

 

[Awakened2022]

Big things move on small hinges

I have today got my first customer from the capital city, and the beauty of this customer is that she runs a retail shop. She was referred to me after being impressed by the quality of the millet she enjoyed at a customer's home.

Hope her customers get equally impressed by the quality of my flour so that she becomes a repeat customer.

Till the next big thing,

Aura.

 

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[Bekit]

Yeah! Sounds like you're establishing a Productocracy to me!
Congratulations!

 

[Awakened2022]

Yeah! Sounds like you're establishing a Productocracy to me!
Congratulations!

Thank you. I am beginning to think that business is not so hard provided one picks the right value skews: and mine is uncompromising cleanliness of food products.

Aura.

 

[lifemaker]

Big things move on small hinges

I have today got my first customer from the capital city, and the beauty of this customer is that she runs a retail shop. She was referred to me after being impressed by the quality of the millet she enjoyed at a customer's home.

Hope her customers get equally impressed by the quality of my flour so that she becomes a repeat customer.

Till the next big thing,

Aura.

Congrats!

 

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[Awakened2022]

Congrats!

Thanks @lifemaker. The customer called today to say she received the package. I guess this opportunity has enabled me to navigate the logistics involved in "shipping" goods by bus.Next time should be easier and quicker.